Captured at Sea
by Batman DannyP fanwriter
Summary: What happens when Ariel agrees to meet Prince Eric but is captured by a ship instead? What happens when Eric slips onto the ship to save her but is also captured and made a cabin boy? Will the two lovers be able to get free? Higher rating just to be safe, not sure where this will go
1. Chapter 1

**Little Mermaid fanfic**

 **Chapter one**

It had been a week since Ariel had saved Prince Eric from the sea storm that had come out of nowhere, and she had spent every day of her free time on the edge of the shore, watching for signs of him. Each day he took a walk on the beach, searching for any sign of his "mystery girl" as Grimsbe had put it, and he never saw her, Ariel had made sure of that. Ariel knew two things for sure, one: she was in love with Eric, and two: her father would kill her if he ever found out. So, to avoid her father's anger, and to keep the surface world safe from her father's sea wrath, she kept her distance, watching him from afar but never letting him see her, it kept everyone safe that way, even if she did wish she could be with him.

It was after the first week that Ariel was laying on her normal rock, waiting for Prince Eric to arrive when she was caught by him. "It's you! The girl in my dreams, the girl who saved my life!" Ariel gasped and jumped off the rock and got ready to dive under the water when Eric ran into the water. "No, wait, please, I've been looking everywhere for you, please don't go away again!"

Ariel paused and looked at him, debating, but she waited too long as he caught up with her, though the water was too deep for him, he still floated to her. She shook her head, "No, I shouldn't be here, I…I need to go."

Eric grabbed her arm as they both floated in the water, "Please, don't go…I've been looking everywhere for you…Please…"

"I…I can't stay," Ariel replied as she started to pull away.

"Please, meet me again…Meet me here tomorrow? At noon," he asked, desperation showing in his voice.

Ariel paused for a moment and then sighed, "Alright, I'll be here tomorrow…at the noontime sun, but I have to go." She pulled her arm free and Eric let her, a smile crossing his lips.

The next day Ariel showed up at their meeting place early, totally ready to meet with Prince Eric. She sat on her rock brushing her hair with the dinglehopper when she saw a ship approaching and jumped with excitement, thinking Eric was on his ship, but one look at it and she knew it wasn't his ship. She looked at Sebastian and Flounder and they nodded, they knew it too. Ariel was about to jump off her rock when a net landed over her. Ariel cried out in surprise as she was lifted up, closer to the ship and knew that it must be a fishermen's boat, she had no way of knowing it was far worse then that.

Ariel looked at Flounder and Sebastian with fear in her eyes and Sebastian nodded. He told Flounder to tell King Triton what was happening and he would go with Ariel to keep her safe. Ariel looked scared as she was lifted to the boat and that was when she saw Eric. He put his finger to his lips to tell her to be quiet, but she shook her head, she didn't want him to get hurt trying to save her.

Quickly Ariel was lifted up onto the deck and she gasped. There were a lot of men aboard here, but none of them looked nice like the men on Eric's ship. Ariel looked around, hoping to see a nice looking human, but she found none, they were all sneering like she was a piece of meat. Before any of them could do anything, another man, dressed nicely in a suit and top hat and cane, came forward and raised his hand.

"What did we catch in our loot today? Any more exotic fish for my museum," he asked and paused when he saw Ariel and a smile crossed his lips, "finally, after all my years of searching, a mermaid! Good work men, if this works like I know it will, there will be a bonus in your paycheck this time. Lets get this one in some water, we wouldn't want her to dry up and die on us, that would be such a waist…" The man looked around and frowned. "Were there any others around her when you picked her up?"

"Only a tropical fish, a crab, and a seagull, other then that, she was alone, and the fish and crab disappeared at the sight of the net…They must not really care about her all that much," the first man holding the net laughed.

"Well, she's not Triton like I wanted, but I believe people will still pay to see her," the rich man said with a smirk and Ariel gasped, these men wanted her father. She bit down hard on her lip to keep her from biting back at him about her father. "She probably doesn't understand a word of what we are saying, do you my dear," he asked reaching through the net to lift her chin and she pulled away from him as best as she could. "Ah, I see, it's going to be that way, is it? Lock her up in her new home boys, she'll stay there till it's time for the show…Put her next to the Lined seahorse, longnosed hawkfish, Queen Fish and the Emperor Angelfish. She should be happy with that." He chuckled as the men carried the net off and dropped her in a large tank of water next to a tank with two small fish and two medium fish next to her tank. Ariel waited until the men walked off to float over to the wall of her new "home" to talk to them.

"Hello there, I'm Ariel," she said with a smile and the hawkfish and seahorse floated away quickly to the corner, but the Queen and emperor fish floated up to her.

"Don't worry about them, they are skittish about everything, those horrible humans took them away from their family and they are fearful of them. That horrible man with the big black thing on his head has some terrible pets he uses on us when we don't do what he wants, so they don't trust anyone anymore," the queen fish said with a sigh. "I'm Latifah, cause I'm a queen fish and apparently there is a famous person with the name Queen Latifah…That over there is Kuzco, he's the Emperor fish. Then there is Flicka, the seahorse and Hawkeye, the longnosed hawkfish…Apparently the owner has a thing with naming his fish after famous characters or people…Kuzco is an emperor in a cartoon that kids love, Flicka is a famous horse from some movie, and Hawkeye is some sort of famous hero," Latifah rolled her eyes.

"Actually, I'm curious to see what he names you," Kuzco replied with a curious look. "It's not often we get a half human, half fish here…What are you anyways, some sort of odd experiment they tired that went wrong?"

Ariel chuckled, "Don't be silly, I'm a fish just like you…well, sort of…I'm a mermaid." She smiled, "My dad would kill me if he knew that I was here, he already lost my mother to a fishermen ship when I was just a little kid, it would kill him to know I got caught by one."

"Oh my dear, didn't you know, this ship is not a fishermen ship, it's far worse," Latifah replied, a sad look on her face.

"What do you mean worse," Ariel asked with concern.

"That human with the black thing on his head, he's a collector, he collects rare and common fish that are attractive and then puts them on display on his big ship for humans to see, then humans of all shapes and sizes pay that man to come on his ship and they stick their horrible faces in on our home and make faces and bang on the glass and make jokes about us. Sometimes that horrible man takes some of the fish to the center cage and makes them do tricks for the strange humans, the fish like the dolphins and what not, but then they always come back completely wiped out. It's horrible and there is nothing we can do to stop it," Kuzco added.

"That's where you're wrong, we're getting Ariel out of here right now and back home where she belongs. If your fatdda knew about dis, do you know what he would say! He'd say he's gonna kill himself a crab, that's what fatdda'd say," Sebastian thundered as he climbed into Ariel's tank. "Now come on little girl, lets see you jump out of here and get us home before your fatdda comes here."

"But Sebastian, I can't just leave them all here, what will that human do to them," Ariel argued.

"It's sad Ariel, but we gotta get you out of here, there is nothing we can do to help them," Sebastian replied.

"No, I'm not going to just leave them here! I am going to stay until I can find a way to help them out too! No one deserves to be locked up like this," Ariel said crossing her arms.

"Dear, maybe you should listen to the crab, no one wants to be locked up here, and now is your chance to get out of here, you should take it," Latifah said with a sad smile.

"No, I won't leave you all here," Ariel replied stubbornly.

Before they could say anything else, the rich man who had the "big black thing" on his head walked up to her tank with a smile. "Ah, I see you've met your neighbors on this great voyage. Tell me mermaid, how do you like the name Star…You see, one of the most famous versions of a mermaid is found of a Starbucks coffee cup, and since Starbucks is not a suitable name, we could call you Star…How about that?" The man smirked, "What am I asking you for, you can't answer me, you're a fish, Star it is, I'll have the men make the name plate up for you." At this Ariel crossed her arms and huffed, turning her back to him. "Hum, so we have a diva do we, that should make you great for the show…Oh, and one more thing I should tell you, we found a stow away on our boat, I believe he was looking for you." The man smirked as he waved his hand and two men brought forth a struggling Eric.

Ariel's eyes grew wide as she swam to the edge of her tank and looked up at him, "ERIC," she yelled out before she could stop herself, worry clear in her eyes.

The man smiled with obvious delight, "Ah, so you can speak English, good, that should make my job easier." At this Ariel crossed her arms again and frowned, turning her back to the man, but keeping the corner of her eye on Eric. "I see you have a soft spot for this young man, as he seems to have one for you as well since he came here looking for you…Now my dear Star, you will perform in my show, and you will do as you're told."

Ariel crossed her arms and huffed, " I will never do as you say, I would never listen to a horrible man like you, a man who takes innocent fish with lives and families of their own and locks them up here for display, it's barbaric!"

The man sighed, "Well, if I can't convince you to perform, then I guess that is it. Boys, take our captured trespasser here and toss him in the empty tank. He's tied up, but with his arms and legs tied, I doubt he'll be able to do much in the way of escape, but just to make sure he doesn't get free, release my pets in the tank after you drop him in."

"No, you can't, he'll die," Ariel said franticly, but the man didn't seem to care.

As ordered the men lifted Eric up, despite his struggling, and tossed him over the edge of the neighboring tank. Eric struggled, trying to free himself from his bonds, but to no avail. Ariel looked frantic, and, ignoring Sebastian's shouts of protest, Ariel readied herself to jump. She gasped when a door to the tank was opened and two sharks entered and headed straight for a struggling Eric. Ariel didn't stop to think, she just did what she knew she had to to save Eric. Backing up to the far edge of her tank, Ariel swam as fast as she could and then jumped up and jumped over the wall and into the neighboring tank and swam as quickly as she could to Eric's side. Grabbing his arm, she swam to the top of the tank where Eric gasped for breath. The man laughed and tossed two raw stakes into the tank and the sharks went after it without a second though.

"Good work boys, daddy's very proud of you," he said smiling down at the sharks as one of his men grabbed Eric and pulled him out, despite Ariel's struggles and protests. "Now my dear, you can do as you are told and perform for my crowd, or I can feed this man to the sharks and not give it a second thought. What do you say Star?"

"My name's Ariel," she said with a huff, crossing her arms.

"Oh is it now," the man paused, as if thinking, and then shook his head, "No, I like Star better, so you'll be Star…And what is that crab doing here! A crab is a common fish, and I don't want him in my show. Men, fish him out and I'll have stuffed crab tonight."

"NO," Ariel thundered, "leave Sebastian alone! He's not done anything to you!"

"Ah, I see," the man said with a smile, "so he's the friend that was with you when my men caught you on the rock. Very well, he will live, I'll even let him stay with you for now, but you better start behaving and doing as you are told, or the crab and the man, Eric, get it, understand!"

Ariel frowned and crossed her arms, but sighed, "Yeah, I get it."

The man smiled, "Good, I'll see you first thing in the morning for your training," and with that he turned to leave.

"Hey Cap, what do you want us to do with the boy," one of the men holding Eric asked.

"Hum, lock him up in my cabin and we'll make him a cabin boy. If he does what he's ordered, then we might even give him the honor of visiting with his dear mermaid Star," the man said with a smirk.

"Her name's Ariel," Eric thundered.

"Ah yes, the brave young man stands up for the fish that just saved his life, how quant," he said with a chuckle.

"Don't test me, I know who you are!" Eric thundered, "You're Mr. Thomas Benadict Bucks, the most wanted fish hunter in this area, my people and I have been after you for some time now!"

"So that must make you Prince Eric, how quant. Well, _**prince**_ , I hope you know how to work, because that is what you will be doing on my ship from here on out," Mr. Bucks replied with a wave of his hand. "I'll see you in the morning Miss Star," and with that, he walked away.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The next day came too fast for Ariel. She hadn't slept much, even though Sabastian had tired to get her to. She couldn't help but worry about Eric and what fate might await him. Even though she was very worried about Eric, she had to admit she was a little worried about what would happen with her. She missed her home and her family, and she knew how mad her father would be when he found out what had happened to her. She was in the middle of fretting when she saw Skuddles flying around and her mood changed, and hope started to appear. She saw him circle the boat but just as he was about to come to her those horrible men, and the lead man with the black hat, came back.

"I hope you slept well last night Star," he said with a fake warm smile.

"I told you, my name is Ariel, not Star," she huffed.

"Well now you live on my ship and so you might as well get use to the names I give you because it's going to be the only name you are called. Believe me, there are far worse names out there I could give you besides Star. Now, back to the matter at hand, your training. We are expecting a rather large crowd for your show and you need to be very well practiced for it." Ariel said nothing but just glared daggers at the man. "Anyways, if you do a really good job during training, I might even consider letting you see my cabin boy."

"His _name_ is _PRINCE_ Eric, not cabin boy," she said with a frown.

"Well on my ship I am in charge and we don't have any princes on my ship, other then the ones that pay to see my shows. He is no longer a prince, he lost that title when he crept onto my ship and tried to free you, now he is just a cabin boy, and a very hard worker at that, he's been scrubbing my floors all day," the man chuckled and pointed over to where Eric was on the floor, scrub brush in hand, scrubbing the floor and looking pissed off. Standing over him was a rather hefty and mean looking man holding a whip.

"Why are you stopping, keep working," the man demanded and snapped the whip as a warning near Eric's hand. Eric growled in anger but continued scrubbing. Ariel noted that Eric now had shackles around his ankles and he didn't look like he'd slept much either.

"Just leave Eric alone! Let him free, you don't need him, you have me here," Ariel demanded.

"Why would I let him free? So he could run back to his people and bring a ship full of his army to try and take me down? I don't think I will do that. Now Star, it's time for training, are you going to come to the edge so we can hoist you out or are you going to make us use the net again to get you out?"

Ariel looked mad, but she didn't know how much defiance she could show without someone getting hurt. She looked over at Eric with worry and then back at the man. She apparently had taken too long to decide because the man grew impatient and a net was dropped over a surprised Ariel. She struggled slightly but it didn't help her any as she was dropped down into new cage that was empty of fish, but had several other objects around.

She looked around her surroundings and noticed a ball floating in the center. There was also a big platform out in the middle that looked like a rocky island. There were several more random objects on this platform and Ariel wondered what they might be for. She watched as a woman jumped into the water and swam over to the rock island. Ariel just watched from her spot in the water and then frowned when the lead man, Mr. Bucks Eric had called him, took a seat in a row of chairs facing her new cell and she scowled when she saw the man drag a struggling Eric with him.

"Have a seat _prince_ Eric," he said mocking Eric's position, "I wouldn't want you to miss your girlfriend's show."

Eric looked mad, "Don't listen to him Ariel! You can escape here, I know it!" The man seemed to have had enough and pressed some sort of stick to Eric's side and Eric let a surprised yelp out as a "zap" was heard.

"I have been kind enough to let you stop working in order to watch the show, so don't take advantage of that kindness now by speaking. You are only a servant here, my cabin boy, and you will do whatever I tell you to! I did not give you permission to speak out, certainly not to speak to my main attraction, so you will be silent," the man growled down at Eric. Eric glared up at the man but wisely chose not to say anything back to him.

"Now Star, I'd like to introduce you to my trainer, Ellie. She's been with me since she was small, she trains all of the fish and she feeds them all. She will be working with you on the training, but you will be taking your commands from me until I feel you have successfully completed a show I think my guests will like. Now to begin, lets start with something simple, like how high you can jump. I want to see you jump up out of the water and tap that yellow ball hanging from up there." He pointed to a beam above her new cage and for just a moment, she thought about not doing it, but Eric was too close to that man and she didn't want him hurt again.

Frowning, Ariel jumped up and easily tapped the ball with her hands and landed gracefully back in the water. This seemed to please the man. "I see you can jump very high Star, that's good, our customers will like that. Now, I want you to do some of the basic tricks that Ellie does with the dolphins. I want to see how nimble and graceful you can be."

Ariel looked mad about being put on display, but she did what she was told. The woman jumped in the water and held up a ring. Ariel got the idea and jumped through it easily. Next she lifted a bar up and Ariel jumped over that. The girl tossed a ball up and Ariel caught it in her arms and tossed it back to the girl. She waited for the next trick, still feeling mad but the human girl seemed to hesitate.

"Get on with it Ellie, I don't have all day," the man growled.

The girl looked nervous but then slowly nodded, "Ye…Yes sir…" Her nervous eyes turned to Ariel, "I…I'm suppose to grab a hold of your shoulders and ride on your back…under the water, around the circumference of this pool and then you're suppose to jump up, with me on your back and we're both suppose to twirl around in the air before we land back in the water…" The girl still looked rather nervous, was she afraid of Ariel, she wondered.

"That's the dumbest thing I have ever heard. Why should a human come under water with me, you can't breath under there," Ariel fumed.

"Because it's what he wants…" the girl responded, still sounding nervous. Ariel looked the girl over, she couldn't be much older then her, sixteen, maybe fifteen, why was she working for this man.

"Get on with it," The man demanded and another zap was heard near Eric, who let out a small yelp of surprised pain. Ariel looked at the man with daggers in her eyes.

"Oh just grab ahold already and lets get this over with," Ariel muttered crossly. The girl nervously grabbed Ariel's shoulders and Ariel began to swim under water. Keeping in mind the human girl was on her back too, she swam quicker then normal and jumped up out of the water fast, the girl gasping for air before she twirled in air and landed back in the water. Ariel followed the girl's lead and twirled as well, though she hated being on display like this.

The man stood up and began to clap, "Very well done Star, I can see you are a fast swimmer too. We'll continue training after lunch Star, until then, I will have Ellie help you back to your normal home and I will take my cabin boy back to work, lots more floors to be scrubbed and food to be served," he smirked down at Eric who scowled up at him. "If you're both good, maybe I will even let you two spend some time with each other tonight." And with that the man dragged Eric off with him, leaving Ariel in a sour mood.

"Um, excuse me, Miss Star…" the girl muttered nervously. Ariel had almost forgotten that the girl was there. She turned her angry eyes back at the girl who took a fearful step back.

"WHAT," Ariel growled with angry tears starting to form but she blinked them away.

"I…I'm sorry, but you heard the boss, he wants you back in your tank before I feed the other fishes, and you…" she said quietly.

"Why do you work for an evil man like that," Ariel demanded finally swimming up the edge of the pool near the girl, glaring at her. "He's an evil man, he hurts fishes, takes them away from their families, he eats them if they are not good enough for his show! Why would you work for a murder like that!"

"I…I didn't chose to, I was made to…I…I was part of a bad storm where my family's boat sank when I was ten…My family didn't survive, but Mr. Bucks, well, his men used a fishing net and caught me and pulled me out of the sea. I almost drowned that day, but they kept me just above the water level so I would survive. When they finally brought me up, he presented me with an option. He told me I could live with him and work for him or his men would put me back in that net and…drop me back in the water." The girl shivered in fear. "I…I had nowhere else to go, my family died in that storm…I…I don't want to be tossed back into the water, it happens too often for my liking, so…so I work here. I do what he tells me to and I stay safe."

"If you don't like the water, then why are you working a training show where you are required to be in the water and at times go under the water," Ariel asked.

"Because he makes me, it's part of my job, feed the fish and train with the fish in the show. I really am nothing more then another attraction for his show, but it's not like I have another choice. I can't run because we're always on the sea. And the few times we go to his privet hidden island, there's no way off. Even if I wanted to get away, I can't. I've lived with him for five years now and I hate it, but there's no other choice for me…"

"You could become a mermaid and live with me in Atlantica," Ariel finally said.

"I'm a human, not a mermaid. The only way I could do that is if the king of the sea decided to change me, decided I was worthy of that. From all the stories I've heard, he hates humans and he's what causes the ship wrecks in bad storms, why would he chose to change me?"

"He might if I asked him," Ariel said before she could stop herself.

"It's a nice thought, but sadly I think I am stuck here for life. I don't mean to rush you Miss Star, but I need to get you back in your tank so I can feed the other fishes."

Ariel sighed, "My name is Ariel, not Star, Star is the stupid name that human gave me, but it's not my real name!"

"ELLIE! Why the hell isn't Star back in her tank yet! Do I need to punish you for not obeying my orders," Mr. Bucks thundered.

"N…No sir, she's just being a bit difficult, I'll get her in her tank right now!" The girl, Ellie, looked back at Ariel with panic, "Pl…Please, let me put you back in your tank! I…I really don't want to be punished!"

Ariel could sense the fear in the girl and finally nodded, using her arms to prop herself up on the ledge where Ellie stood and allowed Ellie to carry her back to her first tank where Sabastian waited for her. "What about you Ellie, what's going to happen to you?"

Ellie looked at her feet, "I will go back below deck to the holding cells since Prince Eric is doing my jobs. I am normally the one that does all the work around here, but now my only job is feeding and training the fish…Speaking of which, what do you eat?"

Ariel blinked in surprise at the sudden question but shrugged, "I eat seaweed."

Ellie nodded, "I think I have that. I'll be back…"

It took an hour for Ellie to feed all the fish, including Ariel, before the nasty men took her away. Ariel felt sorry for the girl and wished she could help. If she ever got out of here, she'd make sure her father helped Ellie. Later that day Ariel was subjected to another rigorous training session with Ellie and of course Mr. Bucks watched again, this time without Eric. By the end of the day Ariel had been through three long training sessions and she was completely worn out.

She wasn't surprised to see Mr. Bucks come to her cage at the end of the night and Ariel turned her back on him. "Aw, still not happy to see me Star? That's too bad because I brought you a present for being so good today at training."

Ariel looked up quickly at the sound of grunting and was surprised to see a struggling Eric. This time his legs were chained together to prevent him from escaping as the men dragged him to the edge of Ariel's cage. Without warning Eric was tossed over the side and Ariel was quick to swim to his side. "I'll give you ten minutes alone," Mr. Bucks said before turning his back and walking away with his men.

Eric winced slightly as the sea salt hit a cut on his shoulder and Ariel was quick to try and keep that part of his body out of water. Her eyes showed her worry for him. "Eric, you shouldn't have come on after me. You should have run. This place is a horrible place with horrible humans!"

Eric's eyes were soft, "Ariel, I just found you, I am not going to lose you again. Besides, I couldn't just leave you alone in a place like this."

"I'm not alone," she said suddenly, "Sabastian is here with me, and Flounder went to let my father know what happened."

"Can your father help us," Eric asked, not really knowing anything about Ariel.

She smiled, "Eric, my father is the king of the sea, King Triton, I'm pretty sure he'll be able to help us."

Eric blinked in surprise, "I…I didn't know…I'm sorry."

She smiled, "It's alright, there's a lot I don't know about you or your world either, Skuddles helps me with learning about the human world."

"Skuddles," Eric asked.

"Dat no good seagull bird that knows nothin' but nothin'," Sabastian muttered.

"Oh, well I see you get around when it comes to friends, well, that's…good…"Eric winced again as the water hit his shoulder.

"Oh Eric, I'm sorry, I should be holding you up better," Ariel said with worry.

"Don't worry about it Ariel, it's just a little scratch, I'll be fine."

"You got that from those horrible humans, didn't you," Ariel sounded angry.

"Yeah," he said sheepishly, "when I wasn't scrubbing the floor fast enough. But I'm okay, really."

Ariel looked worried," Oh Eric, I'm so…" Before she could finish their privet moment was interrupted by Mr. Bucks and his crew.

"Your time is up Star, but don't you worry," he said as his men pulled Eric out of the tank, "You'll have a chance to see him again, provided you keep behaving like you should and do as your told." Ariel glared daggers at the men as they dragged Eric away, struggling all the way, Eric never gave up the fight. Ariel pounded her fist into the glass wall, she had to find a way to get Eric, herself, Sabastian, Ellie, and all these other captive fish out of this horrible place, hopefully without involving her father. He wouldn't keep a level head with her involved. She knew that he would do anything to keep his remaining family safe, even if it meant sacrificing everything he had. She couldn't let that happen.


	3. Chapter 3

**Little Mermaid Chapter 3**

In the middle of the night, Ariel woke to a strange noise. Groaning she looked around, it was dark out, that was how she knew it was late, but she couldn't figure what all the noise was about. Slowly she sawm to the edge of her cage and looked around. Just outside of reach were several of Mr. Buck's men surrounding someone small. Ariel squinted to see that it was Ellie and she looked terrified.

"Please no, this isn't my job! I…I only take care of the fish…Please!"

"Aw come on sweetie, you know you do what we tell you to, you wouldn't want to be punished, would you," one of the men said in a smooth tone, though not as smooth as Mr. Bucks, and it scared Ariel.

"Pl…Please," she heard Ellie try again, her voice smaller, more fear sounding.

"Well if you don't want to play with us, then we will just have to punish you," another one of the men said and all the men laughed.

"Please no, I've been good, I've done everything Mr. Bucks has asked, please no," her fear was spiking, but her voice was getting quieter, as if the fear was stealing her voice.

"That poor girl," Latifah said sadly watching the scene.

"What's going on," Ariel asked confused, "What do the men want from her?"

"Nothing she should give them, that's for sure. I feel bad for her, it will be the net for sure," Latifah said sadly.

"The net," Ariel asked with worry but soon got her answer.

"NO! Please," she heard Ellie beg as two of the men grabbed her and another two men grabbed a fishing net and started wrapping it tightly around her.

"That's the one they caught her in all those years ago, she fears it and they know it, but it's not just the net, it's a lot worse then that," Latifah said sadly watching.

Before Ariel could ask any more questions, the men took the net and tossed it over the side of Ariel's cage and Ellie began to sink. She thrashed wildly about, fear clear in her eyes, but she was so well wrapped up in the net she couldn't get out. Panic was clear in her eyes and both Ariel and Sabastian rushed to her side. Sabastian began to cut the rope on the net as fast as he could and Ariel did her best to pull the net up.

Ariel managed to pull Ellie's head above the water, "It's okay Ellie, breathe, it's okay, I've got you, you're not going to sink or drown, you are safe, I have you."

Ellie's breathing was fast and frantic, as if she couldn't get enough air, but finally it settled down and she looked at Ariel. "You…You saved me?"

Sabastian finally managed to cut the last of the netting off her face and began to work on the netting around her arms. "Of course I did Ellie, I couldn't let you sink like that."

"Bu…But you're a mermaid, merpeople hate humans…"

"Who told you that," Ariel asked.

"Mr. Bucks…"

"Well, we only hate people like him, people who hurt fish, we don't hate all people…"

Before Ellie could reply they heard chains rattling and running and then Eric was at the edge of the pool, "Ellie! Thank God you're okay! I was really worried about you when the men came back without you last night." He looked at Ariel and smiled, "Thanks for saving her, she didn't deserve this."

"What did they want from her anyways," Ariel asked.

"Nothing good," Eric replied.

"That's what Latifah said, but she wouldn't say what it was those men wanted. What was it," Ariel asked confused.

"They wanted me," she muttered quietly.

"What," Ariel asked confused.

"Those men were drunk and they wanted to…claim her…like a wife, but they had no intention of treating her like they love her, they just wanted the benefits of it…" Eric sounded disgusted, but then cried out at the sound of a whip crack. Ariel had to grab a hold of Ellie again quickly when Eric let go, a fresh mark on his hand from the whip.

"What is my cabin boy doing over by my Star! I didn't give you permission to see my main attraction yet, neither one of you have earned it, now get to work before I have to punish you again," Mr. Bucks growled.

"That wasn't his fault! He wasn't here to see me, he was here to save Ellie," Ariel fired. "And if you keep hurting them, I won't do anything you say, I'll leave here!"

"My dear Star, I know you better then that, I've been watching you, you care too much about others, you wouldn't leave them stranded here," Mr. Bucks said with a smile.

"Then maybe you should keep a tighter reign on your men," she fired in anger, still keeping Ellie up.

Mr. Bucks looked at Ellie as if seeing her for the first time, "Ellie, what are you doing in the water, my dear, and all wrapped up in that net? I didn't order punishment on you."

Ellie looked down, but Ariel got mad, "Your MEN put her in here and she could have DIED!"

Mr. Bucks reached down and pulled her out and cradled her close to him, "Yes, well she didn't." He lifted her chin to look at him, "You're okay, aren't you Ellie."

Ellie looked down, not daring to meet his eyes, "Y…Yes sir."

"Good, then you can get cleaned up and we can get back to work. Since I don't have Triton to work with, then I will simply have to work with Star here."

Ariel's eyes looked worried, hearing this man wanted her father, again, she was afraid, but she hid it well. "I'm surprised I was able to catch you so easily Star, I thought King Triton kept a closer eye on his merpeople, guess not though, my luck not his."

Before anything else could be said, a sudden storm appeared and rocked the boat, sending Ellie back into Ariel's cage. Fortunately, Ariel was fast acting and she caught her. "Sounds like your fatdda found dis ship," Sabastian said.

"No! He can't find this," she whispered quietly, "That's what this man wants, he wants daddy! I can't let daddy give himself up for me! If this man got the triton do you know what would happen!"

"Ariel, I don't think we have a choice in this, I think your fatdda found us, hopefully he is wiser then you think girlie," Sabastian replied climbing up above the tank to look down in the water.

"HUMAN," Roared the voice of Ariel's father, "RELEASE MY DAUGHTER NOW! If you do I _**MIGHT**_ spare your ship and the people on it."

Mr. Bucks looked over the edge of his ship to see King Triton and smiled, "In all my days of searching, I never thought I'd find King Triton." Mr. Bucks explained in wonder and then looked over the edge at Triton. "King Triton, ruler of the merpeople and all the oceans, what an honor it is to have you visit my ship."

"I don't care about your ship, I care about my daughter! Now RELEASE her at ONCE!"

Mr. Bucks blinked in surprise, "I didn't know you had a daughter, or any family for that matter. I saw you, years ago, in a pool of other merpeople, but I assumed it was just your subjects. I didn't know when my ship hit them that it was your family…" He suddenly looked over to the tank were Ariel was with raised eyebrows and grabbed her by her hair and she let out a cry of pain. "No! Ellie!" Without Ariel in the tank, she couldn't hold Ellie up and Ellie was still tangled in the net. Eric took quick action, with the crew distracted by King Triton, and jumped in and saved Ellie, pulling her out of the water.

Both Ellie and Eric were out of the water, but they could do nothing but watch as Mr. Bucks pulled Ariel close to him. He pulled out a dagger and held it up to Ariel's neck and nodded to his men who grabbed both Eric and Ellie, holding them tight.

"Now Star, you never told me you were a princess," he said with a wicked smirk, keeping Ariel close to him. "Now Triton, I didn't know this little fish was your daughter, I caught her fair and square with my daily catch, her and a common crab. It is in my line of work to keep rare fish and a mermaid is the rarest of all fish. She will make quite the attraction at my shows, and I am not willing to give that up. Now you are free of course to destroy this ship, but then you don't know what will happen to her while she is aboard my ship. Now so far I haven't had to harm my dear Star, but I will if you don't give into my demands!"

"I don't negotiate with kidnappers! Release my daughter NOW," Triton growled.

"I see no reason to release her. You see, my people expect to see great shows with raw talent and your daughter is very talented, so I think I will keep her. I don't have anything better then her to offer. Of course, I might think about releasing her, at least not use her in my shows, if I had something better. Triton, you want your daughter to be unharmed, well then you will hand over your triton to me and you will surrender and be part of my show. If not then we have no deal and I will just have to feed the crab to the sharks and work her till she is too tired to work and then feed her to the sharks…"

"RELEASE HER NOW," Triton growled his triton glowing a dangerous orange but lowered it when Bucks held the knife closer to Ariel's neck, drawing a bit of blood.

"Daddy NO! You can't listen to him, he's an evil man who hurts fish," Ariel billowed.

"Your choice Triton, surrender to protect your daughter or try and fight and risk her getting hurt," Bucks said with a smirk.

Triton sighed and used his triton to lift the water around him so he was up on the ship. "Don't hurt her," he said trying to sound commanding, but his voice showed his worry.

Mr. Bucks smirked, "Hand over the triton, Triton, now!" Ariel gasped as the dagger once again cut into her neck. Triton looked pained, but slowly he lifted his triton and handed it to Bucks. With a triumphant grin, he grabbed the triton and shoved Ariel at Triton.

"You just made a huge mistake Triton, with this scepter, I can now control all the creatures of the ocean, including you! Now, both of you back into the tank!" The scepter glowed and grunting, Ariel and Triton jumped back into the tank Ariel had been in before.

"Oh Daddy, I wish you hadn't come, now we're both stuck here," Ariel said in dismay.

"Well Ariel, the only thing we can hope is dat dat boy o' yours has his men on their way to save their prince," Sabastian said sadly.

"Yes, hopefully Eric's men know he's missing and they will come looking for us. But until then, we need to try and find a way to get daddy's triton back…"

"Oh Ariel, I'm so sorry, I just couldn't see you snared by some fish eater's hook, I had to try and save you," Triton said sadly.

"I know daddy, I'm sorry I got you into this mess."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The next morning Triton and Ariel woke when the boat suddenly jerked as if signaling it was slowing down. Sabastian climbed up the side to look out and see what was going on and found the boat was slowing down into a harbor of an island that was surrounded by mountains on all sides except for the way they were entering.

"Welcome Miss Star and King Triton, to my exotic island, where the rarest of the rare fish stay. Here will be your new home for the next few days as my guests come in from all corners of the globe to see my shows. We will be here for a few days before we set back out to sea to see what else we can catch," Mr. Bucks said with a smirk. "With your triton at my disposal, catching rare fish should be no problem for me now. I do have to say it was quite fun getting you to surrender Triton."

"You said you'd let my daughter go if I handed it over," Triton growled, wrapping his arms protectively around Ariel.

"If you recall, I said I might let Star go or I might just keep her! I never said I would let her go, that was just your hope. Why would I let her go? With both of you, I can get twice as much money since no one has ever seen a live mermaid or merman before let alone the famous King Triton. Now I did have something made for you Triton," Bucks said with a smile pulling out a triton and tossing it at the king. "It's not your real one, it's just plastic, but it will look good for the shows and the pictures."

"Shows and pictures," Triton asked with a frown.

"Star, why don't you explain the shows to your dear ol' father, I'm sure he'll love it. Anyways, you have about ten minutes until we dock and start unloading and then we will transport you to your new homes," and with that he turned his back on the merpeople and walked away, laughing.

"Who the hell is Star," Triton growled and Ariel sighed.

"Star is what he has decided my name will be. I told him that my name is Ariel, but he's decided that Star sounds better. Anyways, I should warn you, he's going to make us preform in his show, with your triton in his hand, I don't think we will have much of a choice. But daddy, please don't get mad at the girl who trains in the shows with the fish, she's just as much a prisoner here as we are, that evil man caught her in his net too."

"That human catches his own kind, that's the dumbest thing I have ever heard," Triton said with a frown.

"Maybe so, but he does."

"She's right your majesty, dey almost killed dat poor girl last night by tangling her in a net and dropping her in the water. Ariel saved her, but it was a close one," Sabastian added with a frown.

Before they knew it, a quiet girl, (Ellie), came up to their tank. "Um, Ariel…Mr…Mr. Bucks says it's time for you and your father to be loaded up and taken to the island." She kept her eyes down and didn't look at them, "I'm really sorry your majesty, you shouldn't have been caught, but Mr. Bucks is a hard man." She looked over her shoulder to make sure no one was around before she added in a rush, "I'll do whatever I can to help get the both of you out of here, it's not right for you to be caged." She looked away and sighed, "I…I'm sorry, but I'm suppose to help get you out of the tanks and get you onto land, taking care of the fish is my job, my only job…"

"Ellie, go get the other fish ready, I'll see to Triton and Star," Bucks said with a smirk.

Ellie's eyes went back down to the floor quickly, "Yes sir." She turned to leave and he grabbed her shoulder.

"You're such a good girl, doing everything daddy tells you to, I'm very proud of you." Ellie winced at the name daddy, but she knew better then to say anything in response. She accepted his hug and then when he released her, she hurried off. Ariel glared at him and he smirked. "Do you have a problem Star?"

Ariel's frown turned into a scowl, "Yeah, I don't like how you treat the people you keep here. Even my father treats our servants better than that! It's not right to toss her into the water in a net so she can't save herself one night and then the next day you hug her and tell her you're her father and you're proud of her! It's wrong!"

"Well, as much as I'd like to debate this with you Star, we really do need to get a move on, the show is tomorrow and you and your father have a lot of training to do before you are ready for the show. Now," he said lifting the triton, "I want you both to hop out of the tank like good fish and climb onto this lift I have for you so we can transport you to the water where you will be carried to your new home." The triton glowed and both of them grunted as they were forced to obey Buck's command and climb onto the lift. Ariel could see, out of the corner of her eye, that Eric was being escorted out from under the deck with shackles on his ankles and wrists. She tried to move to help him, but the power of her father's triton was too strong and she had to stay in place.

Eric saw Ariel's struggle and wanted to help her, but he was held tight by several men and wasn't able to do anything either. He watched helplessly as Ariel was loaded into the tank and driven off to wherever Bucks was taking her and her father. Eric swore he'd try and help Ariel and her father however he could. He felt horrible that he could do nothing to save them, he should have done more the night before when Bucks was threatening Ariel. It had made his blood boil with anger when he saw Bucks with the knife to Ariel's throat, but Buck's men had such a tight hold on him he hadn't been able to do anything.

Bucks left the ship like a king and it really made not just Eric, but Ariel and Triton mad too. They hated how stuck up Bucks seemed, especially now that he had the Triton. "Where are you taking her," Eric snarled at Bucks and Bucks laughed.

"Fear not cabin boy, they are in no harm, they are being taken to their tanks. Of course, to keep the trouble down they will be put in separate tanks, but they will be safe, I can't have any harm come to my main attractions. You on the other hand, you are just a cabin boy. We have a nice little holding cell for you on my island, complete with dirt and rats and everything," he smirked as Eric scowled. "Of course, most of the day you will be too busy working to be in the cell."

"And I suppose you will be putting Ellie in there too," Eric said bitterly.

"Of course not, Ellie is like a daughter to me, she has a much better place to stay, she stays in my own personal cabin with me and my men. She is well taken care of," he said with a warm smile.

"Only as long as she does what she is told," Eric said with a frown.

"And just what are you trying to say? That I don't take good care of the things that are mine," he asked in an innocent tone.

Eric frowned, "I'm not saying anything more, you don't listen to a _cabin boy_ anyways. Now would you mind telling me what my job is or what they are, as you have said I will be busy all day. I wouldn't want to feel _ill-used_ ," he said bitterly, knowing that Mr. Bucks would work him as hard as he could because he was that type of man.

"I'm so glad you have finally embraced your position here," Mr. Bucks said with a smile. He turned to smile at Ariel and Triton. They were both putting up a fuss because the two of them were being put in separate tanks. He walked over and smiled, "What's the problem here?"

"You're trying to take my daughter away from me," Triton thundered.

"Well I can't keep the two of you together, you two cause too much trouble together. If I keep you two together then you'll always cause trouble. If you start behaving and doing what you are told without causing trouble, maybe I will consider putting you two back together. Now start behaving and get in your tanks!" The triton glowed and they had no choice but to get in separate tanks. Ariel glared at him and he walked over to her tank, "Something to add my dear Star?"

"Just that you are a horrible man and I HATE you," she said in anger.

He smiled and chuckled, "Aw, well, sticks and stones as they say. Rest up my dear Star, you will be practicing soon for the show and I don't want you tired before you even begin."

Ariel glared at him but there was nothing she could do since he had her father's triton so she just crossed her arms and turned her back on him. He chuckled as he walked away and Ariel sighed, feeling a bit hopeless. However her mood changed as soon as she saw Skuttles flying around the island again. She called out his name and the seagull looked around before landing on the wall of Ariel's tank.

"Skuttles, this is very important, so I need you to pay very close attention, got it," she asked in a slow and quiet voice and he nodded. "I need you to find Eric's men on their ship and lead them to this island to help us. Daddy and I can't do anything as long as he has daddy's triton. Get whatever help you can from the other birds, but you can't get help from the sea creatures this time. Since that bad man has daddy's triton, he can control the creatures of the sea."

Skuttles nodded, "You got it sweetie."

Sabastian sighed, "We're doomed if he is our last hope."

"Quiet," Ariel demanded. "I have faith in you Skuttles. Remember, find Eric's ships and lead his men here and get help from any of the birds you can get help from, can you do that?"

"Lead Eric's men here and get the help of the birds," he asked tilting his head then nodded. "I'm going to get the help of the humans and the birds, got it!"

"Good, now get going before these horrible men see you," Ariel said quickly and urgently. Skuttles nodded and flew away and Ariel sighed.

On the other side of the glass Triton looked at his youngest daughter with a raised eyebrow, "Do you really think he can help us?"

"I believe in him daddy, Skuttles is my friend and I trust that he will do his best to save us, he's always been nice to me and helpful."

Triton sighed, "It's not as if we have a lot of other options, I suppose we just have to trust him."

Bucks came back to their tanks with Ellie at his side, "Alright Miss Star, it's showtime, are you ready to preform?" Ariel huffed in annoyance but Bucks only smiled, "You can come out on your own or I can use the triton to make you come out, it's your choice." Ariel sighed and climbed onto the platform for her and it lifted her out of the water and moved away. Triton watched his daughter with worry but there was little he could do to protect her this time. He tossed the plastic triton they'd given him to the floor in anger and frustration, all he could do was hope this seagull that she placed her faith in would come through.

An hour passed and then Ariel was brought back. Triton looked worried and rushed to the glass wall that separated the two of them. "Ariel, are you okay?"

"I'm fine daddy, I won't let this guy get the best of me," Ariel scowled at Bucks and he smiled back.

"I'm so glad you had fun Star because now it is your father's turn." Bucks turned to Triton with a smile and lifted his triton, "Now King Triton, I want you to go back down and pick up the triton I so _kindly_ gave you and bring it with you to do your show." Triton scowled but with his own triton being used against him, he had no choice but to do as he was told.

"Go with him Sabastian and make sure daddy is okay during the training," Ariel muttered to Sabastian who was hiding in her hair in the tank.

"No Ariel, your faddea told me to watch you and make sure you are safe, that is my job," he replied.

"Yes, but I can't leave this cell, daddy is about to be subjected to Buck's training, he is going to need your support. Please Sabastian, I need you to go with daddy and make sure he is okay!"

Ariel's eyes showed her worry and Sabastian sighed, "You know dat Ellie girl will go light on your fadda," was all he replied before he switched tanks and joined King Triton, hiding in his hair too.

Ariel watched with worry as Bucks ordered her father onto the platform, one thing was sure to her, he was going to pay for all of this once her daddy got his triton back, if he ever did. Ariel looked up at the sky and hoped that Skuttles would do his job right and bring help. Until then they would just have to wait and see what happened next.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

After a couple of hours Mr. Bucks returned to Ariel's tank, but Ariel's father was not with him. Arial looked at him holding her father's triton and frowned and Bucks smiled.

"Now what's a matter Miss Star?"

She crossed her arms and turned her back on him, "That triton belongs to my father, you never should have had it in the first place! And what did you do with my father!"

Bucks just smiled at her and gave a light chuckle, "Well now Miss Star, I won't talk to your back, if you want to talk to me and you want answers, then you will have to simply face me."

Ariel sighed but turned to face him but still crossed her arms, "Fine, I'll face you, now what did you do with my father!"

Bucks smiled at her, "Now that is more like it, you're facing me. Your father is fine, he's still in the preforming ring. I came back for you because I am going to have the two of you work together for the show. Now come along, it's time for you to go to the performance ring to practice for the show."

"I thought I already practiced," she huffed.

"Yes, you practiced by yourself, but you and your father will be doing a show together after your two separate shows, so you need to practice together. Now do please get on the lift so we can get this moving because I don't plan on going to bed late because you two want to be difficult. At this point, you two will never be reunited and I am not feeling like letting your man come visit you tonight if you don't cooperate."

Ariel looked down and had a sad face and downcast eyes, "I'm sorry, I'll do what you say, please don't keep Eric away just because of my defiance, I'll behave."

"Now that is more like it, Star, now get on that lift so we can get you to the practice ring," Bucks said snapping his fingers and she frowned but she nodded and got on the lift and went to the practice ring.

For another two hours Ariel and Triton practiced together with Ellie to get ready for their show the next day. Neither one of them looked pleased, but they had no choice but to listen to what Bucks said because he had the Triton. Still, Ariel tried her best to make sure it was easy on Ellie because she didn't blame Ellie for what Bucks was doing, she blamed Bucks. After practice they were brought back to their own tanks, still in separate tanks. Ariel sighed but she knew there was no reason for her to argue with Mr. Bucks he wouldn't listen.

After two hours, two men dragged Eric forward and Ariel's head snapped up and she was suddenly at attention. Eric's struggles stopped as soon as he saw Ariel.

"That's right, lover boy, you going to see your girl," one of the men sneered and tossed Eric into Ariel's tank. Ariel quickly swam over to Eric and pulled him above the water. As soon as Eric's back hit in the water he hissed. Once no one was around to see them Ariel sighed.

"Eric is everything alright? You look hurt," Ariel asked with concern.

"I'm fine Ariel, don't worry about me. I am more worried about you and your father. I know you two are worked too much hard, I don't like how hard Bucks is working you. I swear I am going to find a way to save you two."

"Ariel who is this horrible human," her father grunted with a frown, making no effort to hide his distaste of humans.

Ariel sighed, "Daddy, he's not a horrible human, this is Prince Eric, he tried to save me from Bucks, he was just caught before he could. He's really nice and I…I kinda like him," she blushed slightly and looked down and Eric smiled gently but cleared his throat and looked down when he saw Triton's angry expression.

"Ariel, you can't be serious! He's a human and you're a mermaid, it will never work! You can't love a human," Triton growled in anger and frustration.

"Your majesty, maybe you are overacting a little," Sabastian stated calmly, if a bit quietly, finally coming out of hiding. "After all, in all the time I have been with Ariel since she was captured, I have seen this man defend her many times and never once has he tried to harm her, he even has gotten hurt trying to protect her." At this Eric hissed again and Ariel looked concerned.

"Eric," she cried in worry!

"It's alright, it's just this cut that I have, the darn whip they use on me, it cut across my shoulder and this salt water just hurts a little is all, but really, I'm fine," he replied to her worry with a weak smile.

"Oh Eric, I'm so sorry if it weren't for me you wouldn't…" Ariel started but was interrupted by Bucks thundering voice.

"That damn crab made it off my ship and into my tanks! I already said that a crab is far too common and I won't have him on display!" Out of nowhere an net swooped down into Triton's tank and caught Sabastian. Bucks clamped his hand around the top of the net to keep Sabastian in the net, "Looks like I'll be having stuffed crab tonight for dinner!"

Sabastian gasped and Arial's eyes grew wide with fear, "NO!"

"I told you Star he would be around here to make you behave, but the problem is that now I have your father and my cabin boy so I really have no use for this crab. So, because I have no use for him, I will be cooking him up for my dinner."

Eric pulled himself out of Ariel's tank and rammed his shoulder into Bucks shoulder and knocked him down. He quickly picked Sabastian up and put him in his pants pocked, "STAY THERE," he whispered harshly and Sabastian, though he didn't like the cramped pocket, did as he was told.

" **WHY YOU** ," Bucks roared in anger and punched Eric. "I was nice enough to let you see my Star tonight and you repay me by attacking me! **MEN!** " At his call, three men showed up, one held the electric baton, one held a whip and the other held Eric's chains.

Eric held his fists up ready to put up a fight, he wouldn't just give up, not when he knew he was going to get punished either way, so he figured he'd go down with a fight. Eric got a few good hits in before he was finally taken down with a hard press of the electric baton. After he was knocked down the man with his chains quickly go on top of him and chained his feet and arms up so he could no longer escape and then quickly moved out of the way. Bucks eyes burned with fiery anger as he snatched the whip from one of his men. Eric gritted his teeth because he knew what was coming next as the whip lashed out on his back. Eric closed his eyes and breathed carefully through his nose, preparing for the pain. He was given five lashes, all across his back, before Bucks finally stopped in his anger.

"Get him out of my sight," Bucks thundered and two of his men dragged Eric out. Ariel watched with worry as they took him away, watching as Sabastian stuck his head out to look at them before hiding quickly again.

Bucks turned back to Ariel, "I'm sorry you had to see that, Star, but you have to know what happens to those who defy me. My cabin boy serves me so he should never attack me and because he did, he had to pay for it. I will see you both in the morning when it's time for you to preform."

 **Page Break**

Eric lay on his chest on his bunk in the cell he was locked in. Sabastian paced back and forth beside Eric in worry. He couldn't help but fret over Eric because he always looked over others. Sabastian was still pacing when Ellie entered the cell with what looked like bandages and some kind of goopy stuff.

"I'm sorry that you were hurt defending that crab," she patted Sabastian's head gently and smiled weakly at him. "I brought you some bandages and some stuff to put on your whip marks to make them hurt less and heal. I wouldn't suggest getting in the water with Ariel any time soon, at least not until these newest cuts heal."

"His cuts look bad," Sabastian said in a worried voice.

"Yeah Sabastian, they're bad, but with the right treatment, he will get better and they will heal," she said with a weak smile and Eric turned to look at her.

"You understood him," he asked.

She shrugged, "Well Ariel has been teaching me how to understand the fish world since I have to train the fish because she thought it would be good for me to talk to them and warn them that I don't want to hurt them but help them and protect them from Mr. Bucks. By the way, I am very impressed with you and how you jumped in to protect Sabastian, not very many would have stuck their own neck out to protect him."

Eric shrugged lightly and then winced, "I know he means a lot to Ariel and her father and I don't feel like an innocent person or fish should be hurt if it could be prevented."

"Well I might be able to help Sabastian, but I don't know. Either way, I wouldn't make Mr. Bucks mad if I were you."

Eric sighed, "I wasn't trying to make him mad this time, I just couldn't see him hurt Ariel's friend just because he was in the way of his little show."

"Well…try to get some rest, they'll still work you hard tomorrow, they won't care that you were whipped. I'll see you in the morning, I'll try to get them to let me come get you tomorrow instead of them, at least that way it will be a little lighter on you," Ellie said lightly.

"Thank you Ellie," Eric said with a smile as she walked away.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

The next day Ellie came down to get Eric for his morning work. When she got there, she saw some of the rats nibbling on Eric's pants leg and Eric was trying to shoo them away. Ellie hurried to Eric's side and scooped the two rats up.

"Victor, Xavier, what are you doing? Eric is a friend and you don't want to eat him," she chided to the rats.

"Sorry Ellie, you been gone for a week, we hungry. You the only one that feeds us, the other ones just try to trap us and throw us in the water till we die," the smallest one replied.

"I know Xavier, and I promise I will feed you as much as I can while I am here, until Mr. Bucks takes me back on that ship again, but you can't be eating Eric, he's hurt bad enough already."

"We sorry Ellie," the second rat replied.

"I know Victor, and I'm sorry that I haven't been here to feed you, but I saved you some of my dinner from last night," she replied pulling some bread out of her pocket and the two rats took it and scurried down to the floor.

"Thank you, Ellie," they both replied and Eric looked up.

"You talk to the fish world and you talk to rats too," Eric asked in an impressed voice.

Ellie blushed and shrugged, "Well, it's something I have always been able to do, my mother could do it too, but my father never could. Guess it's a trait I got from her. Anyways, we need to hurry, Mr. Bucks doesn't like to be kept waiting and if we are too slow going up, we won't get lunch today."

"Surely you will get lunch, I've never seen anyone work harder for a man like him, especially when he treats you with no respect," Eric replied.

Ellie sighed, "I only get to eat if I do a good job, and my job performance is judged by Mr. Bucks, just like yours, so I have to do the best I can or I don't eat."

Eric was about to reply when Bucks came up to greet them. He clapped Eric hard on the back and it was only through hard self-control that Eric didn't let any sound out, but he couldn't help the wince that escaped. Bucks smirked but didn't say anything more about Eric's reaction.

"Well _**Prince**_ Eric," Eric paused and knew he was in trouble because Bucks had called him a prince, so something had to be up. "Today is a very special day, it's show day!" Ellie winced at this but didn't say anything. "Now you can't help with the show at all since you don't train the fish, but you can, and will, help in other areas!"

Eric frowned at Bucks, "Yeah, and what would those other parts be?"

"You will be working harder than ever to keep this island clean while our visitors are here. If someone drops their trash outside the trash can, you will pick it up. Any maintance that needs to be done, you will do that. Washing the glass on the outside of the fish tanks in between everyone viewing the fish, you will be doing that too. Oh yeah, and since your shirt is bloody and ripped from your misbehavior yesterday, you won't be wearing that either, I hope you don't get sun burn bad. Now you will be doing the feeding today since Ellie will be busy with the fish in the show today, but you will not be feeding my Star or her father, you are banned from seeing Star until I tell you otherwise, that stunt you pulled yesterday was the last straw on that." Eric frowned at this but didn't get a chance to say anything before Bucks jumped in again, "Oh, that reminds me, where is that crab? I still need to cook him for my lunch."

Eric was about to say something, most likely something that would get him in big trouble, but Ellie jumped in first, "Um sir, do I have permission to speak?"

"Of course my dear Ellie," Bucks smiled and ruffled her hair affectionately.

"If it is okay with you, sir, I'd like to keep the crab with me, you know, as a pet, like you have Killer and Chomper…It's not that I get lonely, I just…I think it would be nice for me to have a pet after all these years. It would give me a chance to try and learn how to talk to the fish and make them obey me even better in the shows…" she added the last part quickly but was still looking down at her feet, not daring to look Bucks in the eyes.

"That sounds like a fantastic idea! But how are you going to learn to talk to the fish? I'm not aware of you having that ability before," Bucks added.

She shrugged, "I can talk to land animals and birds already, you know that, I figure that if I had a fish to work with, I could pick up how to talk to them as well. I mean I don't know that it would work, but it's worth a try, right? Just think how much better your shows would be if I could talk to the fish and tell them what I want them to do instead of you having to use the triton every time…It would take time, but I think I could do it…"

Bucks smiled at the idea, his greed at having an even better show seeming to overtake his need to kill Sabastian, "Well if you really want a pet, how can I refuse you? Okay cabin boy, hand over the crab, I know you have him! Hand him over to her now, she's going to keep him from now on and if you don't hand him over, then I will simply have to punish you again!"

Eric looked from Ellie to Bucks and back to Ellie again. Their eyes locked for just a moment and he could read in her eyes that she wouldn't let anything happen to Sabastian. Slowly he nodded and reached into his pocket and pulled out Sabastian. He blinked and looked around and skidded backwards when he saw Bucks, a look of fear in his eyes, but he relaxed a bit when Ellie took him in her hands and sat him on her shoulder.

"What are you going to name him, sweetheart," Bucks asked in a kind voice that fooled no one there.

"I'm going to name him Sabastian, he looks like a Sabastian to me," she replied calmly.

"Very well, well, you better get dressed for the show, same thing as always, this morning you will be with the visitors and their animals and then after lunch you will be with the fish in the ring for their shows."

Ellie looked down, "Yes sir."

"And be a dear and take my cabin boy around to show him all the trash stops and where he will have to check and clean up."

"Yes sir," she replied again, still not looking up.

"And don't forget to put his chains on, can't have my cabin boy running away after all," Bucks added with a smile handing Ellie some chains.

Ellie didn't look up as she took the chains and put them on Eric's ankles and winced as she put the spiked collar around his neck. She muttered a quiet 'I'm sorry' as she was doing it, so quietly only she and he could hear it, and then led him away. Ellie didn't say anything for the longest time, she remembered that collar too well because she had to wear it when she first came and hated it then too.

"So…what show do you have to do in the morning with the visitors and their animals," Eric asked slowly.

"Well, Mr. Bucks found out that I can talk to animals one day when we were on the ship. I was really lonely and a blue bird flew to my window on the ship, and I started talking to her. I just wanted a friend," she sighed at this and Eric could see how truly lonely she was. "Anyways, while I was talking to her, he came in and saw me having a conversation with her. I didn't hear him come in, I didn't know he was there…Anyways, he then decided I had more worth then just a deck hand and fish trainer, so he markets me."

"He markets you," Eric asked.

"He has me dress as a vet here on the island when the visitors come, and they bring their animals and I talk to them and tell their owner what they say. I don't like being on display like that, my gift is not something you sell, it's a gift. I don't like doing it, I talk to animals because they are my friends, not to make a show of it, but Mr. Bucks says I have to earn my keep here," she sighed again and looked away.

"I promise Ellie, when I get out of here, I will take you to my kingdom and you will never have to be on display again," Eric promised.

Ellie continued to look away, "It's not that I doubt you Eric, but I've been here for many years now, and with you having that collar on, I hate to tell you this, but you won't ever be able to leave."

Eric's brows furrowed, "I don't understand, what does this stupid collar have to do with anything, let alone my escape?"

"Well, it's a specially designed collar, Bucks made it himself. It is designed where the programing tells you where you can go and where you can't go, and if you go where you are not suppose to go, well, then you get a pretty hefty shock. The first time I accidentally stepped out of my allowed areas, I was knocked out for a few minutes from my shock. I hated it, it's very painful. My guess is that you won't be allowed anywhere near Ariel's tank, except to clean it while she is at the show. I can also tell you the moment you try to leave this island, you'll get such a bad shock that you won't get far at all before you are knocked out cold." She looked away in shame, "It's not great, but once you are caught by Bucks, it's what life becomes, there's no way around it, we're his slaves."

"I am no one's slave, I am a prince, head of my own kingdom and I bow to no one," Eric said with force.

"Yeah, I'm the only ruler of the royal blood left in my kingdom too, but that doesn't mean anything. If they knew here that I was a princess, that would be the end of it. I'd never live it down again and they would find a way to exploit it too. That's why I just keep to myself and don't fight any more, I haven't fought since that first day when I found out what kind of place this is. Bucks thinks I am just a shipwrecked person, he doesn't know that I'm a royal. I want to keep it that way."

"Ellie, you're a princess," Eric asked with his brow furrowed in surprise.

"Yeah, surprising, isn't it," She asked with a weak smile.

"No, it's not that, it's just that, well, if you don't mind me saying so, you don't look like a princess. I mean you are beautiful, I am not saying that, it's just that…"

"I look common, yeah, I know, my mother's family thinks that too. They say my mom was nothing but common trash too, even though her father was a duke, they treated her horrible. With mom and dad gone, and me here, I'm sure mother's family is trying to get a hold of the kingdom. After all, dad was an only child and had no other family besides his father. He has distant relatives, but no one close enough to rule the kingdom while we went missing. I suppose that is why I am so good at all these hard tasks Bucks gives me, mom is a hard worker, she doesn't exactly fit the princess or queen role. She'd be up early in the morning making our breakfast, she tended to clean up after herself, she couldn't help it. I'm the same way…Actually, I am surprised that you are so good at working hard in all the tasks Bucks gives you, if you don't mind me saying so. My mother and father were the only ones I though worked hard at minor tasks like that, I've never seen any other royals that were willing to do hard work like this."

Eric chuckled, "Yeah, Grimsby teases me about that too, but I've always enjoyed a little hard work. When we go out sailing on my ships, I am always on deck helping the crew with the ship, hoisting the sails and stearing the ship and all the other work that needs to be done, I don't think I'm your normal royal either. I think that's why it surprised me that you were royal, I have never met another royal that is willing to work hard. All the other princesses that Grimsby has introduced me to would never do any hard work, they hated it."

Ellie sighed, "Yeah I know that feeling, I was always the oddball princess, but I never cared, my mother and father were always there for me and I had Guss and the other mice as my frineds."

"So who is your mother and father…" Eric asked slowly.

"They are the Cha…" She started to say but was cut off when Bucks came up.

"Good job Ellie, you showed him all his work stations. Now cabin boy, I'll have that torn shirt if you don't mind." Slowly Eric took his torn shirt off and handed it to Bucks with a frown. "Alright, each station that Ellie showed you has a hose and scrub brush so you can hose down the sidewalks when needed and scrub them clean. There is a dumpster in the back of my park where you can take all the extra bags of trash, back where no one can see it, I can't have it in the public eye, that would be an eyesore. Oh yes, and Ellie, you have your first customer. Allow me to introduce you to Lady Tremaine and her cat Lucifer. They are currently running a kingdom until the lost royal family is found. It seems the royal family has been missing for a good many years and is presumed dead, but no bodies have been found and the kingdom won't stop until it finds the facts, but until then, she will be ruling the kingdom as its queen. She has brought her cat Lucifer for the mermaid show but she would very much like to see you talk to her cat…"

"Yes," the woman said smoothly. "I have only ever known one other woman to have such extraordinary gifts to talk to animals, my former maid, but of course she died oh, I'd say a good five years ago," she gave a wicked smile to Ellie and Ellie stood frozen to the spot, all the color in her face drained out.

"Didn't you hear her you stupid girl, she wants you to talk to her cat," Bucks ordered and Ellie swallowed in fear.

"Ye…Yes sir…O…of course…"she looked at Lady Tremaine, her color still drained. "Y…You said his name was…Lucifer…"

"Yes my dear, so I did," she said smoothly still smiling.

"Excuse me Mr. Bucks, but Ellie has not dressed in uniform yet, let me take her back to the changing room and she can change. That way Miss Tremaine can have the full experience," Eric said coldly.

Mr. Bucks looked frustrated, "Her name is _Lady_ Tremaine, cabin boy, you will show her the proper respect!"

"Oh it's quite alright Captain Bucks, I know how hard it is to train help these days, my maid was the same way when she was around the royals, hopeless," she sighed dramatically and shook her head. "At any rate I am in no hurry, she can go change into her uniform first, I'd like to see her in it anyways."

"Very well, step to it, and cabin boy, this is the last time I will warn you about speaking out of terms. You will watch your mouth around visitors and show them the proper respect, understand," Bucks said in warning.

"Yes sir, I understand," Eric said in a fake polite tone but glaring daggers at him as he escorted Ellie away. Once they were out of sight and near the women's changing room, Eric turned to look at Ellie. "Ellie, what's wrong, you look like you've seen a ghost."

"Th…That woman…she's my mother's…step-mother…." Ellie's face was very pale. "My name is Ellie Charming…Tremaine is….my step grandmother….the one who treated my mother like a servant even though she was a duke's daughter…."

"So your mother is…"

"Cinderella," Ellie finished up.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Ellie came out dressed as a vet and slowly walked up to her step-grandmother and her cat Lucifer. She took a deep breath and tried to calm her nerves as she faced her. She didn't have her father's bravery when it came to this because she was all alone. She kept remembering her mother's favorite saying, 'Have courage and be kind,' so that was what she was going to try to do now.

"Good morning Lady Tremaine, you said you wished for me to talk to your cat Lucifer," Ellie asked gently, keeping her head up but not looking Lady Tremaine directly in the eyes.

"Yes my dear, as I said, I've only ever known my maid to have that ability, I've never seen anyone else have it. It was rumored her daughter did, but, sadly, her only child died on the boat crash with her." Ellie winced at this and Tremaine continued, "Funny how you and my maid's daughter have the same name, and you look like what I would guess her daughter would look like."

Ellie swallowed and looked at the cat, "If…If you will allow, I will tell you what your cat is saying…"

"You don't need to pretend any more child, I know it's you, Ellie Charming," she gave a coy smile as she looked down at Ellie and Ellie shivered in fear.

"Pl…Please do…don't say anything…Please…H…He doesn't know who I am…Please…"

"My dear, why would I tell him that you are the only surviving heir to the kingdom. If you were to leave his captivity, you would come back to our kingdom and I would no longer be its queen. So as y could see, I do not benefit from revealing who you are. However, I doubt Captain Bucks would ever let you leave his captivity because you make him so much money and he is a greedy man. Besides that, if he were to think about letting you go, I would simply pay him to keep you here and treat you as I did your mother…It's really too bad your mother had to die and couldn't be here to help you, she really was a great maid."

Ellie's eyes burned with tears, "She wasn't your maid she was your slave! She was only lucky to get out of your captivity thanks to my father! And don't you ever speak ill of my parents again! They are ten times the person you will ever be and that is why our kingdom loves them and not you!"

Lady Tremaine raised her hand up to slap Ellie's face and Eric, who happened to be standing nearby saw and grabbed her wrist, "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"Unhand me! _**I**_ am a _**queen**_ and you are just a cabin boy, you have no right to grab me," she billowed, losing some of her poise.

Eric frowned at her, "Madam, the Charmings were good friends of mine and my kingdom and I grieved their loss. I will not stand by and watch as you harm their only child. Now if you have a task for her or I to do, then I suggest you make that request, if not, I suggest you move on the view the other exhibits."

Tremaine frowned at Eric, " I don't know who you think you are but I am a queen now, and if you are in fact a royal, I would watch your step here on this island, or didn't you know?" Eric looked confused and Ellie sighed, "I figured as much since this is the first time I've seen you here. You see, cabin boy, while there are a lot of rich elect here, there are also those of us here who have been denied what we were due, those of us who were screwed out of our happy endings by you 'heroes' as they call you. You will find you do not have very many friends here."

Eric frowned, "I don't care who is here, I will not allow you to treat Ellie this way! She is a good kid and she doesn't deserve this hard life and I won't let you make it worse on her!"

Bucks walked up with a smile, "Prince Eric, are you giving Queen Tremaine a hard time? I could punish you, you know…"

Ellie looked down again, her body posture begged Eric not to say anything. Eric looked mad and his eyes told the story but he also knew how badly Ellie didn't want to have her secret outted so he kept his mouth shut. Lady Tremaine saw this and smiled. "Well Captain Bucks I must say you seem to have a handle on your help. I love the improvement though," she smiled and squeezed the muscled arm of Eric and his frown stayed in place. "If I may have a word with you privetly…" Ellie looked nervous and Bucks smiled at Tremaine and walked off with her.

"Eric, if she tells him that I'm a Charming, it will be all over for me…" She looked worried and Eric hugged her.

"Don't worry Ellie, like Tremaine said, it does her no good to out your secret because then it's obvious you are the proper heir to the throne and she will lose it. I'm sure there is nothing to worry about and everything will be fine. You had better go wherever your 'show' is and I should 'get to work' before we both get in trouble. Don't worry about it though Ellie, I will be around watching out for you. I won't let any harm come to you, I promise. I knew your mother and father, I use to play with you father in sword fighting competitions between the kingdoms. Your father and I were always neck and neck and we made a great team. I came to your parents wedding too, it was beautiful, and you are the mirror image of them, you look just like your mother, but you have your father's eyes." He smiled at her and she smiled weakly back at him.

"Be careful Eric, you've already made him too mad, you can't keep doing it. Bucks needs you alive, sure, but alive doesn't mean without pain. He will make it to where you can't stand if you are not careful…"

"I'll be careful Ellie, don't worry. And don't let Tremaine get to you, she's just a big bully, she can't hurt you here, not while Ariel and I are around, and Sabastian seems to have taken a liking to you and tries to protect you too," Eric smiled and Ellie actually did too.

"Alright Eric, I'll see you at lunch time, I hope," she smiled warmly at him, he was starting to seem like a big brother to her and she liked that.

Ellie went off to do her show of talking to animals and Eric went about his job of cleaning the area. He was halfway though the morning and was beginning to feel the sting on his back from the whip marks. In the morning sun he was starting to sweat and that sweat was stinging the cuts, but he ignored it, he could do this. As he continued along, he noticed a new exhibit that hadn't been out that morning, a giant seashell. As he walked closer he saw a very frustrated and sick looking King Triton.

Eric walked over to him and was surprised when his collar didn't shock him but figured it had to do with the fact that it was only Triton and not Ariel. Slowly he came to the front of him and frowned at what he saw, Triton was perched on the seashell and holding the plastic triton and next to him there was a sign that read "Take your picture with King Triton."

Eric bowed humbly when he faced Triton and then looked at him, "Your majesty, what's wrong? You look sick, are you alright?"

Triton looked like he could argue but he looked too tired to fight so he sighed and tried to lift his hand to wipe his brow but his hand dropped halfway there, looking too tired to even do that. "That stupid human has me out here in this hot sun taking pictures with any human that wants to take a picture with me and this stupid fake triton!" He sighed, "I'm tired and weak, the water in this shell is slowly evaporating and I'm drying out, it's not good for a merperson to be out of water this long."

Eric took a second look at King Triton and could see his tail looked very dry. Eric decided to act fast and ran to the hose that was close to the station and carried it over to Triton and began to spray down his tail. Triton sighed in relief and then all of a sudden Eric cried out and dropped the hose. Triton's brow furrowed in confusion. Bucks walked up with a frown.

"I didn't tell you to spray my main attraction," Bucks said with a frown.

"He was drying out, much longer and you wouldn't have had a main attraction," Eric grunted. "There was no water left in that sea shell you had him in and he was very weak. He needed to get water or he wouldn't have made it."

Bucks frowned but slowly the shocking stopped and Eric sighed in relief. "Fine, I will excuse it this one time but don't step out of line again. Now I have other things to do, so you need to get back to work, I will check on you later."

Bucks walked off and slowly Eric stood up and dusted himself off only to find Triton staring at him, "What," Eric asked.

"You saved me by putting water on my tail. You knew if you were caught by that horrible human you would face punishment, but you still did it. I can't figure you out. First you risked yourself to save Sabastian and now you tried to save me," Triton said.

Eric shrugged, "Not all humans are bad your majesty, just like people believe merpeople are bad and selfish and only care about their own kind, but you daughter saved my life during a shipwreck in a storm. I care about others and I don't like seeing others suffer. Don't forget that you are not the only one who is a captive here."

Triton paused to think about this and maybe for the first time thought about what Eric must be going through. Eric wasn't useful for anything like he was or Ariel, he couldn't be put in a show. It was obvious that that horrible human that had captured them was making life very hard for Eric, and Ariel had told him that Eric was a prince. Triton frowned, he couldn't understand why another human would treat their own kind in such a way.

"I'm sorry human for treating you so bad," Triton finally said.

"It's okay your majesty, you've had a rough experience with humans so it's hard for you to trust humans. I don't blame you," Eric said with a smile.

"Well thank you for helping me Prince Eric," Triton said finally calling Eric by his name. "And one more thing, you can call me Triton, you don't have to call me your majesty, we are both royals."

Eric sighed, "Not here, I'm afraid, here, only you are a royal. I hope you have a better day King Triton, I need to get back to work before they find me not working and I get punished again. I'll see you around."

"Be careful," Triton finally said as Eric left.


	8. Chapter 8

**Just a warning, this chapter will have a lot of surprises, please don't be mad at me, I couldn't help myself. Read the end notes after you finish this chapter after you finish reading for more info on this. Hope you enjoy this latest chapter.**

 **Chapter 8**

Ellie had finished her "job" of talking to the animals when Bucks pulled her aside before the big show with Ariel and Triton. She was confused why they were not going right into the show but she didn't argue and went with him. Eric was also brought along, chains and all. Ellie looked confused but Eric looked suspicious, wondering what Bucks was up to this time.

"Ellie, I asked you along because one of our patrons has brought his pet with him and he wants us to keep it here for safe keeping. He is a great hunter and this is his biggest catch, but France is too small to keep him there." Ellie looked even more nervous at the word France, but she followed nonetheless.

What greeted Ellie and Eric made both of them stop dead in their tracks. There was a giant beast in a cage growling and snapping. Next to the cage was a maiden dressed in a blue dress with a white under shirt with long white sleeves and both Eric and Ellie knew who she was.

"Belle," Ellie gasped and the young woman looked up at Ellie with surprise.

''Ellie, que fais-tu ici dans cet endroit horrible? Où sont ta mère et ton père? (Ellie, what are you doing here in this horrible place ? Where is your mother and father ?)''

"Belle? Qu'est-il arrivé? Pourquoi ton mari est-il encore une bête? Comment Gueston vous a-t-il amené ici? Je ne comprends pas...'' (Belle? What happened? Why is your husband a beast again? How did Gueston bring you here? I don't understand...)

"Ellie, nous allons bien, Gueston est allé à une enchanteresse et a placé un sort sombre sur Adam et il m'a soudoyé pour l'épouser afin qu'Adam revienne à la normale. Quand j'ai refusé, il m'a dit qu'il nous vendrait tous les deux comme des esclaves jusqu'à ce que je change d'avis. Je répète ma question, que faites-vous dans cet endroit horrible? Où est ta mère et ton père?" (Ellie, we're fine, Gueston went to an enchantress and placed a dark spell on Adam and he bribed me to marry him so Adam would turn back to normal. When I refused, he told me he would sell us both as slaves until I changed my mind. I repeate my question, what are you doing in this horrible place? Where is your mother and father?)

Ellie sighed, "Nous avons eu une tempête, il y a cinq ans, lorsque nous étions sur notre navire de la famille sur la mer. Le navire a été détruit dans la tempête, maman et papa ne l'ont pas fait. Monsieur Bucks m'a attrapé dans le filet et m'a tiré sur son bateau après la fin de la tempête. Je suis son esclave depuis cinq ans maintenant." (We had a storm, five years ago, when we were on our family ship on the sea. The ship was destroyed in the storm, mom and dad didn't make it. Mister Bucks caught me in net and pulled me onto his ship after the storm ended. I've been his slave for five years now.)

Belle gasped and the beast in the cage, (Adam), paused and looked at Ellie with actual sadness, "Je suis tellement désolé Ellie, tes parents étaient de bonnes personnes. Ta mère n'a jamais jugé Adam pour son passé de bête, elle l'a accepté comme prince de France alors que la plupart ne l'ont pas fait, ton père était de la même façon." (I'm so sorry Ellie, your parents were good people. Your mother never judged Adam for his beast past, she accepted him as a prince of France when most didn't, your father was the same way.) Belle paused and looked over to see Eric, in chains and no shirt and raised a confused brow. "Eric, que fais-tu ici et pourquoi es-tu enchaîné? Quel genre d'endroit est-ce? Vous êtes tous les deux royaux, pourquoi êtes-vous traités comme des esclaves? Je ne comprends pas." (Eric, what are you doing here and why are you in chains? What kind of place is this? You are both royals, why are you being treated like slaves? I don't understand it.)

This time Eric sighed, "C'est une longue histoire Belle, mais la version courte est que j'ai sauté sur son vaisseau pour sauver Ariel, une jeune femme qui m'a déjà sauvé la vie et quelqu'un dont je suis tombé amoureux. Ne vous inquiétez pas, si vous êtes coincé ici, comme il semble que vous serez, vous aurez l'occasion de rencontrer Ariel et son père. On dirait que Bucks va vous garder tous les deux. On dirait que ton mari va être sa nouvelle "bête". Il aime avoir de nouvelles exibits. Je ne suis pas sûr de ce qu'il va te faire puisque je suis son stupide garçon de cabine." (It's a long story Belle, but the short version is that I jumped on his ship to save Ariel, a young woman who saved my life once already and someone I kind of have fallen in love with. Don't worry, if you get stuck here, like it looks you will be, you will get to meet Ariel and her father. It looks like Bucks is going to keep both of you. Looks like your husband is going to be his new "Beast" exhibit. He likes having new exhibits. I'm not sure what he will have you do since I am his stupid cabin boy.)

"Ellie, what are you three planning behind my back, you know I don't like when you plan things behind my back," Bucks said with a frown.

"It was nothing sir, really, I was talking to her in French to find out what her beast's name was and what it will take to take care of him. She talked to Eric about what her job might be here," Ellie replied carefully.

"Well did you tell her that she's going to be a servant and her beast friend is going to be my newest pet and my newest exhibit?"

Ellie sighed and looked down, "Yes sir."

"Does she speak English or is it only French," Bucks asked.

"She can speak English when she wants to, she's just being stubborn, just like she always is," Gueston said with a frown. "She could have avoided this whole thing if she would just have agreed to marry me, but apparently she would rather be a servant then marry me," he rolled his eyes. "Don't go easy on her Bucks, maybe your harsh treatment will make her see the error of her ways. In any case, I figured I'd keep her father locked up in the nut house and keep the two of them apart, perhaps distance will teach her a lesson and make her see she is much better off marrying me instead of that _creature_ ," he said the word with disgust and Belle huffed. But at the reminder of her father, tears threatened at the edges of her eyes and she blinked them away.

At the sight of her almost tears the best roared, his anger surging. "You know Gueston, I believe this beast would be fun to watch in an arena fighting other things like wolves and bulls and tigers and bears. It might make my customers happy to bid on who could win."

Ellie looked up with fear for Adam and Eric looked up with fury, Belle was too distraught to even speak. She had been pulled away from her father, her husband had been turned into a beast, her father was being locked up in a nut house and she was being kept here as a slave. It was all too much for Belle and she began to cry. Ellie went to her side at once to comfort her and Eric soon joined her.

"Cabin boy, do me a favor and take miss Belle to the holding cells in this island, it's best she learn where her new home will be. My men are taking a Street Rat there too that Jafar dropped off to keep out of his kingdom, a street rat and a Sultan. You all should be nice and cozy in there. I will come down and inspect this Belle after the show and see what goods I bought," he laughed and Eric glared. "And don't forget, any resistance from you and I will just have to shock you, and this time I will turn it up to full power." Eric snarled his hatred but slowly went and guided Belle away.

"What about Adam," she asked with worry.

"Don't worry Belle, I'll do everything in my power to protect you and him, it sounds like Aladdin and his father in law just arrived here too. Looks like Bucks is getting quite the collection of royals here, which is both good and bad. At least with this many royals here, their people will start looking for them. We should have quite the army waiting for us to free us."

Belle sighed, "If only that were true Eric. No one from Adam's kingdom will come, except maybe Cogswort and Lumiere, the rest of our kingdom has forgotten their prince thanks to the dark spell placed on Adam. No one remembers him being the prince, it's just the way it was before I met him."

They entered the prison and sure enough Aladdin was chained to the wall and Sultan was locked up in another cell. There were two of Bucks men standing guard and Eric didn't like how they were looking Belle over. Eric physically put himself between Belle and the men.

"What did you bring us now Cabin Boy? Did you bring us a little treat to sample," one of the men asked with a smirk and Eric still held his protective stance in front of Belle.

"Sorry boys, but not today. Belle is only here on loan and she is not for you to test out. I would keep your hands off her unless you want to deal with Bucks anger," Eric challenged. "Belle will be staying in my cell until Bucks comes down and assigns her her own cell so stand back."

The men grumbled but allowed Eric to pass with Belle as they unlocked his cell and shoved them both in there. They moved to the door that led into the cell block and closed and locked the door and guarded it so even if they escaped the cells they couldn't get out of the jail area. Once everyone was clear of the cell, other then the prisoners, Belle turned to look at Eric.

"Eric, what is going on here? Why are you being held captive here and why is Ellie here? What is this place and why are royals being kept here like prisoners? I don't understand."

Eric sighed, "It's complicated. Apparently Ellie has been here five years. We all thought she had died in that ship wreck with her parents, but apparently Mr. Bucks caught her in his net that night of the bad storm and once the storm was over, he pulled her back up on his ship and she has been forced to work for him ever since. Bucks doesn't know who Ellie really is, all he knows is that she is a young girl with no living parents to claim her and that she has the ability to talk to animals, so he uses that here."

"Well that still doesn't explain what you are doing here. If you didn't know Ellie was here, then how did you end up here, shirtless and chained," Belle asked confused.

"Well, I suppose you can call that stupidity, because people often do stupid things for the ones they love." Eric sighed, "You see, it wasn't that long ago that my own ship was caught in a very bad storm. Everyone go off but my dog Max and I went back for him. I saved Max, but the ship blew up before I could get off. I was sinking in the water and I thought for sure I was going to die, but then someone rescued me. When I woke up on the shore, I saw a red haired woman leaning over me and she was singing to me, until Grimsbe came running after me. I swore I was going to find that woman and I was going to marry her. Well, one day when I was out on the beach, I found her and followed her into the water and that was when I found out she was a mermaid. I begged her not to run away again and she promised to meet me the next day. When the next day came, I was going out to meet her when I saw a fisher's net go over her and drag her onto a ship and I knew it was bad, so I followed her onto the ship and that is how I ended up becoming a cabin boy. Bucks found it comical to take a prince and force him to do hard labor, he just picked the wrong prince because I am use to hard labor, I don't shy away from doing work and often help my workers out because I don't mind it, it gives you a sense of acomplisment."

"So, the girl you followed onto the ship, what became of her," Belle asked concerned.

Eric clenched his fists in anger, "Her and her father are both held captive here and are forced to go on show for everyone who comes here. It's frustrating, but I can't stop it and every time I try, I get shocked by this stupid collar he forced onto me. Ellie says there is no way of escape from this place, but I can't believe that is true, there just has to be a way!"

Belle looked at Eric, "I agree, I never give up hope, if I did, well then, I would never have been able to marry Adam since he was a beast when I met him. After all, he locked me up in a tower when he first met me, but I took the time to get to know him and then I saw he wasn't all bad, there was good in him and I fell in love with him. Because of that, I found the prince inside of him and him being turned back into a beast won't change that, I will still believe there is a way to turn him back into a man, I just have to keep that hope alive!"

"I agree Belle, we just have to be positive," he turned to rest his head on his forearm as he looked out the jail's barred window from their cell and Belle gasped and he turned back to look at her, "What is it Belle?"

"Eric, your back! What happened to you," she asked with worry.

He sighed, "Oh, this? It's nothing. I tried to save Sabastian, Ariel's friend, a crab. Bucks was going to cook him up and I jumped in to save him." Eric sighed, "Like I said, he's a very touch character, but I'm not going to stand by and watch him hurt people for no reason. I'm okay, really Bell, I am, just frustrated with him and the way he treats people." Eric paused and looked over to the cell next to them to see Aladdin and the Sultan, both in chains as well, just like him. "Aladdin, are you and the Sultan alright? Jafar didn't hurt you did he?"

Aladdin looked mad, "No, he just took Jasmine with him and left us here to rot until she agrees to marry him! I should have known he would try something like this when Ginie was away! I can't believe I was so stupid!"

"Now, now my boy, don't be so hard on yourself, we all fell for it, none of us saw this coming. Jafar was smarter then all of us and now my poor Jasmine will pay the price," Sultan said sadly.

"Don't give up on your daughter too fast. I've only been to your kingdom once, when Grimsbe was trying to get me to fall for all of those princesses, but she seemed to be very strong willed then, and I am sure she still is. She will withstand Jafar's threats, and with the both of you here, she knows he can't hurt you. Sure, you two are locked up and prisoners, but that doesn't mean you are getting hurt." Eric reached through the bars and held out a sharp nail, "Here Aladdin, see if you can free yourself and the Sultan with this, it will make things more comfortable for the both of you." Aladdin, Sultan, and Belle all looked at Eric with raised eyebrows and he shrugged, "As soon as I heard about them bringing you here Aladdin, I figured you'd be chained and you would need help. Speaking of help, where is your little helper Aboo? I've never seen him leave your side."

Aladdin looked very mad as he finished freeing the Sultan first then started working on his own bonds. "That stupid man who locked us up in here took Aboo with him, said something about a show. Just wait till I get my hands on him…!"

Eric sighed and shook his head, "That man is getting on my last nerve! He takes everyone and everything he thinks he can turn into a show and puts them on display and the rest that he can't make use of he either kills off or he locks up and treats them like crap! When we get out of here, I'm going to really let him have a piece of my mind! If you want my opinion, I think _**he'd**_ make a good cabin boy and would look good in his own chains and cell!"

"I agree," Aladdin agreed.

"But in order for that to happen, we'd all have to get out of…" Belle trailed off when she heard to door to the prison open and they all looked up to see Bucks enter and Aladdin and Eric were glaring daggers at him.

"Well for a new batch of slaves, you all don't look too happy to see your new master," Bucks said in an amused tone.

"I'm no one's slave," Aladdin growled.

"You're right boy, you're just a street rat, and you should be thankful I am locking you up in here and not giving you a worse treatment, believe me, there are worse places on my island. I could let you sleep with the dogs, or better yet, with my pets Killer and Chomper… _Prince_ Eric can tell you all about them," Bucks said with a chuckle and Eric glared at him.

"Leave Aladdin out of this Bucks, as you said yourself, he's beneath you," Eric growled trying to protect Aladdin because he knew Aladdin's temper would get him stuck in the shark's cage for sure and Eric didn't want to see that.

"Are you so eager to visit my pets again," Bucks asked with an amused smirk. Eric didn't respond which only made Bucks happier. "I see you've finally learned to control that tongue of yours, that's good. Now," Bucks said shoving Eric aside and Eric fell to the dirty floor with a thud, "I'm really here to see my newest piece of work. I was told you were a princess who's been dethroned," he said gently brushing Belle's bangs out of her eyes.

"Yes, and what of it," she challenged.

"Ah, a girl with fire in her, I like that, you remind me of my fair Star, that's good. You are just like Ellie was when she first came, but I tamed her down and now she does everything I tell her to. In time, I think I can teach you to do the same," Bucks purred and Belle looked disgusted.

"I will _**not**_ ," Belle fired back. "I'm not an orphaned child who you can boss around, I am a free will thinker and I will _**NOT**_ be bossed around by the likes of you," she growled.

"Oh really, and what if I were to tell you that if you didn't start behaving and doing as I tell you, I will have to take my anger out in training that beast of yours. My whip is fairly strong and hurts, just ask my cabin boy, he's felt its sting enough, but if the whip doesn't work, I could always use my gun on the beast," Bucks said and Belle gasped.

"You wouldn't!"

"I would and I will, unless you do exactly what I tell you to! I have no use for those who don't obey my rules on _my_ island. Now, are you going to do what I ask," he asked with a smirk.

"What do you want," she demanded.

"Why your hand in marriage of course. You see, it's great that I am the head of this island and I have all this fame and what not, but now people are expecting me to be a family man. I can't exactly be a family man if I don't have a family, now can I? Plus, Miss Belle is a princess, and that would make me royal if I married her, so it's a win-win."

Belle gasped and shook her head no. "You can't be serious," Eric growled.

"I'm very serious. You see, I need a wife and she is the only woman on this island. She can become my wife and protect her beast or she can refuse and I can start beating submission into her beast."

Belle gasped as tears sprung to her eyes and she couldn't speak only shake her head no. Bucks smirked, he had Belle right where he wanted her. "She's not the only woman you have here on your island," came a voice from the door. Everyone looked up and saw Ellie at the entrance.

Bucks looked up with a smile, "Ellie, I thought you were in the ring getting ready for the fish show, why are you down here."

"Because sir, I couldn't let you harm my friends, I had to come, I'm sorry," Ellie replied firmly.

"Well as much as I appreciate you showing a back bone, I'm afraid it would never work. You are a nobody with no title, no one would respect you, and they would look down on me for marrying you. If I married Belle, she would get respect and I would become a royal because she is a princess."

"That's where you are wrong, Belle is only a princess by marriage, her husband is the royal, not her. You marry her and you won't get a title, you'll just get a simple small village girl who is smart."

"Yes, and I suppose if I married you, I'd get more then that, is that what you are going to tell me child," Bucks asked in an amused tone.

"That's right, because I _**AM**_ a royal! My name is Ellie _**Charming**_ , Cinderella is my mother, Ellie, Cinderella, get it? My mother's mice friends use to call her Cinderellie and so they named me Ellie. I am royal by blood, Belle is only royal by marriage. If you marry her, you will not get a title, if you marry me, you will get _**my**_ title, you will become a prince!" Ellie spoke firmly, no fear at all, only courage.

"And why would you agree to this? You know in telling me you are a princess, I could just force you to marry me."

"Yeah I know you can force me, and I know you will now that you know the truth, it's why I hid it for so long, but I also know that I won't go into that wedding willingly, which you may not need, but if I went willingly, it looks better."

"That's true enough, it always looks better if the wife looks like she agreed to it. Alright, what is it you are wanting from me for you to agree to do this willingly, I know you want something out of this whole thing," Bucks asked.

Ellie stood tall and strong, "My demands are simple, leave Belle and your other captives alone! No harm will come to them! That means you will no longer harm Eric, Belle, Aladdin, Sultan, Ariel, Triton, the Beast, who's name is Adam, by the way, and you will name him Adam, and Sabastian, and any other hero captives you may take in! I won't see my friends harmed any longer and just stand by! I can't stand seeing you hurt these people!"

Bucks smirked, "You always did care about the innocents that I take in, it's always been your weakness. Very well, I'll agree to that, but you have to agree to do everything I tell you to," Bucks added. When Ellie nodded he looked at her with a smile, "Alright, is there anything else you want?"

Ellie nodded, "Yes, I want the right to visit them any time I want and I want to keep Sabastian with me to ensure you don't cook him, the only time he will not be with me is when he is with Ariel," she stated firmly.

"Fine, it's done, that means you will forever be trapped with me in marriage." Ellie closed her eyes and sighed, hating this, but slowly opened her eyes and nodded. "You have my word."

"Wait! Before she marries you, I want to see this in writing, that way she can hold you to your word if you ever try to go back on your word," Eric insisted.

Bucks rolled his eyes, "Such a trivial matter, but if that is what you want, cabin boy, I will agree to make out a marriage contract that says all the terms of our marriage." Bucks snapped his fingers and one of his men rushed in with a quill and a roll of paper and Bucks wrote out all the agreement and showed it to Eric who nodded and Ellie, Eric, Sultan, one of Buck's men, and Bucks as well signed it as witnesses to the deed. "That's good, we'll be married by the end of the week Ellie, and then we will go out on my ship for our honeymoon so I can catch my fish with the triton and we can make our marriage consummated."

Ellie shivered in fear but slowly nodded but once Bucks left the cell block, Ellie dropped to the floor and began to cry. Eric and Belle's cell was still unlocked and both of them rushed to Ellie's side and hugged her for comfort.

 **End Note: Don't worry, I don't plan on forcing Ellie to marry Bucks, I have a plan, but you will just have to stay tuned to see what happens. Also sorry for all the new surprises, I didn't plan on making this a big huge crossover, it just ended up happening. I love my Disney classics and I couldn't help but connecting them. Stay tuned for the newest updates and as always please leave comments and tell me how you like my story.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Ellie pulled herself together long enough to go out and do the show with Triton and Ariel because she didn't have a choice. She knew the others would suffer if she didn't obey but she also knew Triton and Ariel would suffer at the hands of the Triton if she didn't go and do what she was told.

 **Meanwhile elsewhere off the island**

Arora was glad that Henry was spending some time with his father and she was getting time to spend with her parents. She didn't get to grow up with her parents so every moment she got with them now as precious and valued. She and her father were playing a game of tennis while her mother watched, smiling, on the side. She had just hit the ball again when a bird flew down on her shoulder and began to chirp wildly and quickly, flapping its wings like crazy.

"What? They took who? When did this happen? Okay, just slow down and tell me calmly…Okay, they took a mermaid princess and her father, who is king of the sea…And they took a prince named Eric who was trying to save her? Wait, they took Eric? What happened next? I see…Do you know where this is at? Can you lead us there? Right, I'll go get Phillip and we'll get our forces together and figure a way to rescue them, this is very serious. Who told you about this? A seagull name Skuddles? Alright, we've not a moment to lose. Get all our friends together, all the help we can get, we'll go save them!"

The bird flew off and Arora's parents both came to her side. "Arora, what is it," her mother asked.

"Prince Eric, you remember him, right, the one that came to our wedding, his kingdom's royal seal is a mermaid inside a seashell…"

"Ah yes, the one who lives near the sea, his kingdom and castle has a lovely view," her father replied. "What about him, is he in some kind of trouble or something?"

"You could say that, yes. From what I understand, he was trying to save a mermaid, a princess mermaid from a fishermen's ship and was captured. After the both of them were captured the king of the mermaids was captured as well. Apparently the man who captured them all is very bad news. The mermaid asked her seagull friend to spread word to all the birds he could that Eric and his merfriends had been captured. The birds can lead us to the hidden island, but Eric and his friends are going to need all the help they can get."

"I don't understand, if they captured the king of the merpeople, why don't their own people save them? They would be closer," her mother said confused.

"Because apparently this man who kidnapped them took his triton, it's like his royal scepter, but it controls all the powers of the ocean and it controls all the sea creatures too. If the other merpeople tired to save them, they would be captured too. I have to get Philip and the birds and go and help save them, they're going to need it!"

"Why Arora dear, who is it that kidnapped them? Do we know them," her father asked.

"Yes, it's Mr. Thomas Bennadict Bucks," she replied in a serious tone and both her parents gasped.

"Why there isn't one kingdom out there that isn't after him for all the things he has done. You go and get him, you and Philip, take our armies with you as well as your own! This is very serious," her father replied in a strict tone.

"Yes and be very careful dear, no one who has ever gone up against him has ever come back. Be very careful darling," her mother added with worry.

"Don't worry mother, father, Philip and I will come back in one piece after we take him down. Taking royals captive is the last straw, he won't get away with it, if he does, what's to stop him from coming here and grabbing us next? I'll be back as soon as I can be, now I have to go, I need to get Philip and get going, there's not a moment to lose!"

 **Meanwhile in another kingdom at the same time**

Snow White was singing in her garden as she tended to her rosebushes. Her handsome husband was nearby, helping her however he could and enjoying her singing and her company. Without warning three blue birds flew in and started flying around Snow's head and chirping madly.

"Hold on, one at a time please, I can't understand you all at once," Snow said calmly and the birds slowed their chirping.

"Yes…I see…They took who? Oh dear, are you sure? And do you know when this happened? I see, we should act quickly, you're right. Now do you know the way? Yes, I understand that. Yes you are right, this is very important indeed. Yes, and they also have who? They do?! Oh dear, that poor girl, all alone like that, we must go. Yes, yes, go round up the other animals and meet us at the ports, we will get whatever help we can here too. Thank you for letting me know…" Snow stood up and dusted her dress off and took off her gloves.

"What was all that about dear," her husband asked.

"Prince Eric, from our neighboring kingdom, was kidnapped by Thomas Bennadict Bucks. Eric is in real danger and it appears that Bucks also has a young teenage girl as his captive as well. She can talk to the animals as well and she is in more danger then Eric. Apparently Bucks captured a mermaid who ended up being a princess of the sea and her father, king Triton, came to save her and he was captured and now Bucks has the triton as well. It controls all of the sea and the creatures in it so the merpeople can't save their own king and the fish can't help either. We have to go help them!"

"You're right, Bucks is a wanted man across all the kingdoms. If he gets away with capturing Eric, he'll think it's okay to capture other royals as well. He could be after Eric's kingdom, we must act quickly. I will assemble the guard and we shall go to their aid. You said your bird friends can lead the way," her husband asked.

"Yes, they know the way, this has been an all bird alert, they've all been following it and passing word, getting help wherever they can. They said they have already alerted Arora and their kingdom is getting ready, we need to join them right away."

"I'll assemble the guard and we'll get going right away, this is serious!"

 **Also at the same time in Africa**

Tarzan was swinging through the trees on his way to tea time with Jane when a flock of tropical birds stopped him. They told him the news of a prince being captured by a man who harmed animals and was treating this human no better then the animals he hunted and hurt. They told him about the additional people that had been captured and how the human said he'd captured a "beast" from France. Tarzan landed in the tree house and looked at Jane.

"Jane, are there any beasts in this place you call Paris," Tarzan aske with a tilt of his head.

"Well not any more. At one time there was a prince there who had been cast under a wicked spell that turned him into a beast, but an old friend of mine named Belle was held captive in that castle and got to know the beast and fell in love with him and he turned back into a prince. So he wasn't really a beast, just a prince under a spell until he found true love. Why do you ask," she asked.

"Well, the birds outside cherping and making a racket are telling me about a man who captured a prince named Eric and his fish girlfriend and something about capturing a beast from France and his pet, a human girl. I wondered if you knew any stories of this…"

"Well, it sounds a lot like Belle and her husband Adam, but he's not a beast any longer. Still, we should go down to the trading post and ask them if they've heard any news from France just to be sure."

Tarzan nodded and he and his crew hurried off to the trading post. When the owner of the post confirmed that Belle had been kidnapped by a Guston fellow, Jane gasped. Her friend was in very real danger. Tarzan asked the birds where the beast was being kept and the birds told him that the island was not far from where they were in West Africa. Jane looked worried so Tarzan asked the merchant if they could borrow a boat to go find Jane's best friend. With a promise to help guide tourist, who were not pooching or shooting or harming animals, the merchant gave Tarzan his biggest boat, one that would hold Tarzan and his crew, including Tantor, and some crew members armed with guns and swords. The professor agreed to stay there and watch over Tarzan's family until they got back to make sure no poachers tried to catch his family. With that promise, Tarzan and his new crew were off to help save Jane's friend Belle.

 **Meanwhile at the same time in China**

Shang and Mulan were called to the palace on very important news. When they arrived the emperor looked very troubled about something. Mulan looked at her husband Shang and they both shared a look.

"What is it your majesty," Shang asked.

"I have very troubling news. It appears our neighboring kingdom Aggraba has been attacked. The person, named Jafar, has taken the Sultan away along with their new prince Aladdin. Their princess is being held captive in the palace until she agrees to marry this man Jafar. If she breaks and marries him this could spell disaster for our kingdom and all other kingdoms around. If you chose to accept this mission, I can not help you, you are on your own. In fact, I am not even giving you this mission at all."

"We understand your majesty, what are our orders," Mulan asked bowing.

"You must go and find the island that the Sultan and Prince Aladdin are being held on and free them. We must get them back to their kingdom as soon as possible and restore peace. If you are caught, it will be big trouble as you will most likely becomes slaves on this island. If you succeed in this mission, it will mean an alliance between our kingdom and Aggraba. Take with you whoever you wish, but I must warn you that the bigger your number, the more risk you take at being discovered," the emperor warned.

"We understand, we only need three more men for this mission, three of the best men," Shang said with confidence.

"We will not fail you your majesty," Mulan added.

"Very good, go now, time is running out, we must act quickly," he said and the two warriors nodded and departed to get their equipment and their three loyal men, Chien-Po, Yao, and Ling and then they were off to rescues the Sultan and Prince Aladdin.

 **End note: Fear not everyone, help is on the way for Ellie and her friends under Bucks' captivity. I have a few more surprises in store, so stay in tune to this story and as always, please review.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Ellie went down to greet Eric and Belle and noticed Belle was getting sick. Ellie ran to her side and quickly held her hair back. The restrooms in the cells were horrible and had terrible privacy, but Belle had to be sick somewhere. Ellie hurried to Belle's side and held her hair back out of the way. Finally Belle stopped getting sick and sat on the dirty floor.

"Sorry Ellie, I didn't mean to worry you," Belle said.

"What happened, did you eat something bad," Ellie asked with concern.

"No…" Belle looked around to see if anyone was watching but Sultan and Aladdin were both asleep and Eric had already been pulled out for work. Finally she sighed and looked at Ellie, "Can I trust you?" Ellie nodded and Belle sighed, "I haven't even told Adam yet…I'm…I'm going to have a baby…"

"Belle! You're going to be a mom! That's great!" Ellie smiled and paused, "Oh, that's bad…You and he are stuck here…This is horrible…If Bucks found out…" Ellie looked worried.

"Ellie, stay calm, it's going to be okay. I'm more worried about you. I don't want to see you hurt, and you're about to be bound to that horrible man. You have it far worse then any of us."

"No Belle, I'm fine, I am willing to do this for you all because it keeps you all safe. I am okay with doing this…"

"You are your mother and father's daughter Ellie, you really are amazing…"

Before either one of them could say another word, Bucks came down to the cell block. "Alright, time to start the day! Now, I don't think I can use you Belle, you're pretty useless, and of course all my heavy and hard work is done by my cabin boy, so I don't really know where to use you…"

"I can use her," Ellie said in a fast tone. "Please! I'm going to be your wife very soon, so I won't be doing the hard work…You said last night that Aladdin would be taking over my job, the only job I have left is being your wife and training the fish…Let Belle be my personal servant! She can do it! She can teach me in my studies, all the studies I've missed these past five years so that your wife looks like a smart woman who is supportive of you and your work…"

Bucks frowned but then paused and smiled, "Very well, she can be your maid of honor tomorrow at the wedding. We need to get started with the day, you best get her up to your new room and get her dressed in your old uniform." He turned to the next cell and hit Aladdin on the head and he jerked awake. "Get your ass up and get to work Street Rat, you're our new servant! Now get moving, Eric is already up there working, he'll help teach you what to do. First though, we need to fit you in your chains and collar…"

"Chains and collar," Aladdin said with a frown.

"And after he finishes his work, he gets to go see his monkey," Ellie added.

"No, he's not going to see my dancing monkey, the monkey has to work," Bucks responded, "And that wasn't part of our deal."

Ellie frowned but knew better then to argue with him. "Then I will put his shackles on and collar. You are higher then those tedious tasks. I'll get him ready and then take him up to Eric."

"Fine, if that is what you want to do then fine, but you will take your servant up to change and then come back to me after. After all, you are my soon to be wife so we need to be seen together." He smiled at her, "Now kiss your man goodbye before I leave for work." Ellie pursed her lips but then squared her shoulders and slowly walked over to him and gave him a small kiss. "That was very good, but we are going to have to work on it, after all, people expect us to be madly in love…"

"I am not in love with you and never will be. I may be agreeing to be your wife, but that doesn't make me any less of a prisoner then before, just means I'm on display more. I did what I had to do to protect my friends, that's the only reason I agreed to this. Just like the only reason you agreed to this is because you want my royal title, since you know my parents are dead and I am their only child that means that I am the only hair to the throne, even though Lady Tremaine took it."

"Well that's okay, I don't need you to love me, I only need you to follow orders and make this look good. Now practice the kiss one more time and make it more convincing this time," he ordered, "and remember your friends' safety is in my hands and it all hinges on you doing as you are told." Ellie sighed and closed her eyes but reached up and gave Bucks a real kiss. She hated it, but she would do what she had to do to protect her friends. "That was much better, maybe I should have you teach all these other prisoners how to behave properly, though it has taken me five whole years to get you to behave this well for me."

Ellie sighed and looked away as Bucks left and then walked over to Aladdin with the chains. "I know you can break out of these, but if you care about Aboo, and anyone else here, I wouldn't suggest that. Bucks has quite the temper and he won't hesitate to throw Aboo to his pet sharks if you don't listen and do what he says. Trust me, sometimes it's just better to submit." When Aladdin frowned, Ellie sighed. "Aladdin, trust me on this one, I've been stuck as Bucks captive for five years, I know him well, I know how he acts, he's use to getting his way. If you don't do what he says bad things happen. I don't want to see others hurt, please Aladdin, think about Aboo or about Sultan…"

Aladdin looked at Ellie and for the first time he could see the hurt in her eyes and sighed. "You really have had a hard time here, haven't you? And you're just a kid…"

Ellie shook her head, "I'm not a kid anymore, I haven't been a kid since that second week by myself. My family died and I watched it happen…The first week alone on his ship, I stayed in that cabin room and cried…After that first week, I had to learn to grow up…I haven't been a kid in a long time." She sighed again, "I need to put these shackles around your ankles and this collar around your neck. You'll hate them at first, but you'll get use to them and as long as you do everything Bucks tells you to, there will be no pain…That's the only advise I can give you."

She closed her eyes and looked down, hating what she had become. Slowly Aladdin lifted her chin up for her to look at him. "Hey, it's okay. We all know what you chose to do, you did it to protect all of us. It's a very brave thing to do, and I will do what I am told, as long as it keeps you safe. Ellie, you have to take care of yourself too. Eric, Sultan, Belle and I, we are all here for you, we all care about what happens to you. You are not alone any more. Your family may be gone, but we are your friends and we're happy to be your family now. We all will look out for you. I mean look at me, I'm a street rat turned prince. We all have stuff we can do. You have a kind heart. You sacrificed your freedom to help save us. We know the kiss you gave Bucks wasn't a true love kiss, and that's okay, because when you do have that kiss, it will be the most powerful thing ever, stronger then any curse."

Ellie's eyes grew wide, "Aladdin, you're a genius! That's how we help Belle! Belle, we can bring Adam back to human form! I don't have time to explain right now, we have to get you to my room to change and Aladdin, I have to get you ready." He nodded and she quickly put the shackles around his ankles, loosely so they wouldn't hurt and then quickly put the collar on, tight enough it fit around his neck, but not so tight that it was uncomfortable. The three of them walked up and she showed Aladdin the way to Eric and Eric took over to show him the ropes of the job and Ellie took Belle to her room to get her changed.

"Okay Ellie, what are you planning?"

"I can't tell you Belle, if you know, then Bucks might catch on and it would ruin the whole thing. Besides, I don't even know if it will work, it's just a hunch."

They stepped out of Ellie's room and Bucks was there waiting on them with a rather shady character. The hairs on the back of Ellie's neck stood up just looking at him and she had to fight the urge to cower back. Belle squeezed Ellie's hand and Ellie relaxed a bit as she stood next to Bucks.

"So…Who is this man who so kindly came to our island," Ellie asked as calmly as she could.

"Ellie, this is a good friend of mine, Percival C. McLeach. He does a lot of hunting and he helps me out from time to time with bringing me exotic animals to show off until the rangers are off his trails. And this is my soon to be wife, her name is Ellie," Bucks said with a smooth smile.

"It's nice to meet you Mr. McLeach. What brings you to our island today," she asked trying to keep her voice smooth.

"Well, I came across a bit of a problem in my work line and he's getting in my way. His name is Cody, and the rangers are still looking for him and he's getting in my way of finding that mother eagle. Anyways, I brought the boy here to get him out of the way, then I can catch that bird finally," the man growled jerking a boy out from behind him.

"How old are you boy," Bucks asked looking down his nose at him, just like he did with Ellie.

"I'm fourteen, I've grown since this stupid poacher caught me the first time and I'm still going to fight him. He didn't catch my friend back then and he won't do it now either. He'll never find her nest," the boy explained with passion and instantly Ellie liked the boy. He was only a year younger then her and he already showed a lot of courage, of course that courage would get him in trouble in this place.

"Well, with everything you do for us, we would be happy to keep the boy here for you. My cell block is getting a little crowded, but with Belle coming out for serving my wife, I suppose he could be locked up with my cabin boy. I can't use him around the park, I already have too many prisoners working out there and I don't need another fighter. We'll lock this one up. Maybe a few days without food and water will teach him to behave better." Ellie felt horrified and made a mental note to save some of her food and bring it to the boy. "Now I'll take your problem child and lock him up for you gladly. That way if the rangers ever do manage to find your place, and I doubt they will, they'll never manage to track you to this kid. Ellie, why don't you and Belle go down and check on Star and her father and then on my beast, I'll lock this boy up!"

Ellie wanted to argue, but there was a clear warning in Bucks' eyes and she sighed inwardly, "Of course dear, whatever you want." Yes, Ellie would be down there tonight to give the kid some of her dinner, she'd made up her mind about that.

Ellie walked away and went to check on Ariel and her father and after that she and Belle went to check on Adam. When Adam saw Belle and Ellie coming to him, he actually smiled. It warmed Ellie to know that Adam didn't hate her, even though she was working for Bucks. Ellie led Belle up to Adam's cage and looked at Belle with a serious look.

"We don't have much time until Bucks returns and checks on us, so you have to act fast Belle. I think you can change Adam back from a beast to a man, I think all you need is true love's kiss, it's the strongest magic there is. You have to be quick Belle, because if Bucks catches us, it's all over."

Belle's eyes shined with hope, "You really think it will work Ellie?"

"As I said, I don't know for sure, but there is only one way to find out. You have to act quickly too."

Belle nodded and slowly she leaned in and kissed Adam. There was a bright flash of light and slowly, Adam did turn back into a man. Belle's eyes grew wide and then she smiled. She took Adam's hands and he took hers and smiled back.

"You were right Ellie, it worked! Adam, I was so worried about you," Belle cried.

"Don't worry Belle, I've faced far worse before, I can handle this."

"Belle, you need to tell Adam now before anything else happens," Ellie urged.

"Tell me what," Adam asked.

Belle looked around and seeing they were alone, she smiled, "Adam, we're going to have a baby."

Adam smiled, "We're going to be parents, Belle that's great!" He paused and then looked worried, "Wait a minute, we're both prisoners here. What if that Bucks fellow hurts you?"

"Don't worry about that Adam, I have already taken care of that for you, Belle is going to be my own personal servant."

"What did you do to get that," Adam asked with worry.

"She agreed to marry that horrible man," Belle said with a frown.

"Ellie, you can't do that."

"Adam, I have to. It was either I marry him or he was going to force Belle to marry him. I had to reveal my royal linage in order to get him to agree, but it was the only way to save Belle, and all the other captives here," Ellie argued.

"What other captives," he asked?

Ellie sighed, "Prince Eric is here as Bucks' personal cabin boy. Aladdin and the Sultan are here, Aladdin helping Eric out and Sultan as a prisoner, and they just brought a boy here named Cody who is only a year younger then me. He also has two royal merpeople here, Arial and King Triton. Bucks is getting quite the collection of royals and it is starting to go to his head," Ellie frowned. "By agreeing to marry him, it keeps everyone here safe."

"Everyone but you," Adam said with a frown.

"What happened to my beast," Bucks demanded in anger, "why is he human again!"

"The spell must have worn off sir, there's nothing you can do about that," Ellie said quickly before anyone else could say something to get them in trouble.

"What am I suppose to do with a washed up prince! I needed a beast for my acts, but what can a prince do!" Bucks paused and then a smile creeped across his face. "I know just what to do, my cabin boy is a prince and this man is a prince, we can have the battle of the princes with sword fights. Eric will do as I command because of Ariel, and you, beast, will do as I say because of Belle," he said grabbing her wrist roughly.

Adam growled in anger but Ellie jumped in first, freeing Belle's hand from his grasp, "No sir, you won't hurt Belle, we had a deal," she stated calmly. "Belle is my maid, as long as I am bound to you, you will not harm the royals here, that was in our agreements."

Bucks growled in anger and slapped Ellie hard on her face. "Damn you, you're always getting in the way of my plans! FINE! I guess I'll just have to make you my wife right now and when I consummate our marriage, I'll make it hurt much more!"

"Leave the girl alone Bucks! She's just a child," Adam growled and Bucks smiled.

"I take it you care about this stupid misfit," He smiled shaking Ellie in his rough grip.

"I said leave her alone Bucks!"

"Then you will agree to the duels with Prince Eric," Bucks said with a smile.

Adam frowned, "Fine," he gritted out, "I'll fight Eric in a sword fight, but I will not harm him, I draw the line there!"

Bucks smiled, he loved getting his way. "Good idea, if you both stay alive you can continue to fight each other for the people you love. It's a great angle, I like it, everyone loves a prince fighting to keep their princess safe!"

Adam frowned at this but everyone was surprised when Eric showed up and growled, "I will not be put on display for you! I know better then to believe you'll hurt Ariel, she's your main attraction right now! I'm not going to fight with my friends just for your own amusement and you have nothing to hold over me to make me do what you want!"

"Oh I think I do have _something_ to hold over you, _Prince_ Eric," Bucks hissed as he pulled Ellie closer to him. "I think it's time you go _**swimming**_!"

Ellie's eyes grew wide with fear, "No, please," she begged!

"Leave her alone," Eric growled.

"I can't do that. Ellie belongs to me. You see, when Lady Tremaine came here, she asked me to keep Ellie here, when she told me Ellie was her step-granddaughter, well, I was happy to oblige. She sold me rights to Ellie, so Ellie now belongs to me, as a slave, but I chose to give her the honor of marriage to me. Ellie now belongs to me and I can do with her what I please! She seems to be the one thing you all care about and you _all_ have been defying me far too much. Physical pain doesn't seem to teach you a lesson cabin boy, and you're right, I won't harm my Star, so I have to teach you in another way!"

Bucks grabbed some rope and tied Ellie's wrists behind her back and then tied her ankles. His men, at the snap of his fingers, grabbed Eric and Belle and held them back. It took two men to hold the struggling Eric back, but the did manage to subdue him. From his cage, Adam had the perfect view of Ariel's tank because he was on a balcony that overlooked the tanks on that side of the park. Bucks dragged Ellie down with him to Ariel's tank and smiled.

"Miss Star, you will not interfere. This is a direct order, you will stay in your tank and watch as Ellie goes down, but you will not help her! Now step back so Ellie can take a dip!"

Ellie's eyes looked wide with fear and Ariel wanted to help her, but Bucks had the Triton and she was unable to come to Ellie's aid. Bucks tossed Ellie in the water and she began to sink. Ellie struggled even more but she could not break free of her bonds and fear was the only thing you could see in her and she continued to sink to the bottom. Eric and Belle were struggling like mad and Adam was yelling from his cage above but Bucks didn't care, he just smiled.

"Maybe now you will think twice before you defy me again, cabin boy!"

"ALRIGHT, you MADE your POINT! Now please, let her go! She'll die in there," Eric billowed.

Aladdin saw what was happening from afar and he ran to jump in and help her. Bucks saw this and activated his collar which was shocking him. Aladdin grunted and fell and Bucks seemed satisfied, but at the last moment, Aladdin jumped up and jumped into the water, ignoring the shocks. The pain was clear in his eyes, but he still swam to the bottom and grabbed Ellie and pulled her back up. He pulled her out and then fell on the sidewalk in pain as the electricity from the shocking collar was now traveling through him even more because of him being all wet. Ellie lay very still because she had swallowed some water and Eric was finally able to pull free of his two guards and he came to her aid, preforming CPR. Ellie coughed up water and then groaned and lay on her side. Once her eyesight cleared, she saw how much pain Aladdin was in and she reached over and pulled the collar off. She got shocked in doing so, but Aladdin had just saved her life, so a little shocking wouldn't bother her.

Bucks sighed, "You all are hopeless, so willing to defend each other, even to death if need be. I'm getting tired of this. Ellie, tomorrow we will get married, I'm done putting this off! I will make you pay after that because by then, even by law you belong to me!"

Bucks' men let go of Belle and left Eric's side and Ariel was finally released from the triton's control. Ariel swam to the edge of her cage and looked up with worry at Ellie and Eric. Belle came to all three of them, worry clear in her eyes.

"Ellie are you alright," Eric asked.

Ellie was still shivering and shaking, but it wasn't because she was cold. She held up her hand to tell them to wait while she steadied herself. She took a few breaths to calm herself before she looked up at them again.

"I…I'm fine…I…I just need a moment…" Ellie had calmed herself, but she was still shivering, fear still clear. Eric moved up to her and hugged her warmly.

"Ellie, I am so sorry. This is all of my fault. If I had just agreed to do what he wanted, you wouldn't have been put in the water…" Eric looked very upset.

Ellie sighed, "And I am the reason Aladdin is hurt, he got shocked badly because he jumped in for me and not only was he shocked, but he was hurt badly because the water was a conductor of the electric shocks. Eric we can all blame ourselves for what happens, but the truth is that Bucks is the one at fault. I'd like to say it will all be over tomorrow, but sadly, I have a feeling it will only just begin. I don't want to be that man's wife, but I have to."

"We'll fight for you," Eric said.

"No Eric, there is nothing that can be done now, it's set, I'm stuck with him forever now. I'm done trying to hope, hope does nothing but bring disappointment."

"We'll figure some way out of this Ellie, we won't give up on you," Belle vowed.

"I think it's too late for that Belle," Ellie said with a sigh.

 **Meanwhile elsewhere on the island**

A small raft crashed up against the wall of the hidden island and four people, a goldfish, and a black and white cat washed up in a hidden cave in the wall of the island. The boy who had still been wooden was now real. The woman and man looked at the father of the boy with concern.

"Jepetto, are you alright," Cinderella asked.

The man coughed and looked at them, "I think I survived the worst of Monstro, what about you and your husband?"

"I think we're okay. What about your boy? We did our best to keep him safe," Cinderella said.

Jepetto looked over at his son and looked worried, he couldn't see him breathing. "He's not breathing. Before any of them could react, Charles Charming pushed Jepetto out of the way and began CPR. After what seemed like forever Pinocchio coughed and began to breath again and Jepetto hugged his son, so happy they had all survived.

"Where are we father? Did we make it out of Monstro?"

"Yes we did my boy, your idea worked! We're safe now!"

"But where are we father," Pinocchio asked?

"I'm not sure, we're on an island of some sort, but I'm sure we're safe."

"We should scout out the island and find out if there is anyone else here and where we are at. It is best if we stay together and not get lost, we don't want to lose anyone. And I promise Jepetto, I won't let anything happen to your son, there is no need for another child to die," Charles said, his voice laced with a bit of pain.

"Charles, what happened to Ellie isn't your fault. You couldn't have done anything more. Ellie was a good swimmer, just like you. Maybe she managed to find some of the ship and float away to safety, like we did," Cinderella said softly.

"Yes, your wife is right, I mean look at my boy, he came to the bottom of the sea to see me and he survived. I'm sure your daughter is out there somewhere," Jepetto said is a light tone trying to keep Charles' spirits up.

Charles sighed, "Maybe, but it was a very bad storm, Cinderella and I almost didn't make it, and we probably wouldn't have if your whale hadn't swallowed us up and you pulled us onto your ship inside." He paused and looked around, "Let's see what is on this island, maybe there is someone who can help us…"

 **End note: Sorry this one is so long, a lot needed to be done on this hanger, sorry guys, but I thought you should know Ellie's parents did live through all this and they are on the island with her, though she doesn't know it yet. Even more help is on the way! Hopefully it isn't too late to save Ellie from Bucks. Next chapter is the big wedding, or will it be? You'll just have to wait and see** **As always, please review**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Ellie had only been granted a few moments rest before Bucks came back to her. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her up with him. Again her friends tried to come to her aid, but Bucks' men blocked their paths.

"It's alright, I'll be fine, watch after Aladdin, he's the one that was shocked so bad," she said with worry as Bucks pulled her away.

Bucks continued pulling her with him until he got to his own cabin. She looked fearful at first when they stepped inside, worried that Bucks really would take her before their wedding day, but he didn't stop inside the house. He took her into the bedroom and she started to get very nervous, but then he lifted a rug and under that rug was a door. He lifted the door and pulled her down with him. Once they were down the stairs, she realized this was another jail cell. This must have been built before Bucks' cabin was here. She looked around and there was only one other place occupied in the cells, it was the boy Cody.

Cody looked up when the two entered and frowned. He hated Bucks and everything the man stood for and so far all he knew about Ellie was that she was marrying the jerk. Bucks stopped in front of the cell that was next to Cody and shoved Ellie inside and locked the door. Ellie blinked in surprise.

"I can't have you in the cell block with all the others, you all are getting too independent and even you are starting to rebel against me. I can't have that. I need you close until the wedding tomorrow and this cell is the perfect place for that, no one can get in without my permission. Your friends will stay in their normal cells tonight and will join us for the wedding tomorrow. I hope your attitude improves by then." Ellie said nothing she just looked at her feet and Bucks smiled at this. "That is good, a wife should be seen and not heard, I like that you have already learned that. Now, I will be back in a few minutes with your dinner, after that I suggest you get some sleep, because tomorrow night you won't be getting any," Bucks said with a smirk and a shiver of fear ran through Ellie.

After Bucks left and came back with the food and left again, Ellie shoved the food away from herself, she had lost her appetite. She looked over at Cody and sighed and pushed her food over to him.

"Here, you should eat it, he's not going to feed you while you are here and I don't feel like eating anything now," she said her stomach had a sour feeling, like she was going to be sick.

"I don't want anything from someone like you," Cody said coldly.

Ellie looked up and blinked in surprise, "What do you mean someone like me?"

"Someone who would marry that horrible man! Someone willing to marry a man like that is not someone I would ever consider taking food from. If you are willing to marry him then you must be as bad as him!"

Ellie sighed and looked hurt, "I…I don't want to marry him…"

"Then why would you! Where I come from we marry for love, and no decent person would ever marry that man, a man who locks people up and hurts animals," Cody said fiercely.

Ellie shook her head, "You don't get it, you haven't even been her a day. I've been Bucks' prisoner for five years. I hate him more then anything, but I have to marry him! The other prisoners here on this island, they are all very good friends of mine, friends with the family I use to have. My family died in a ship wreck during a horrible storm, I only survived because Bucks caught me in his net and he left me in the sea during the storm but he pulled me onto his boat after and decided to keep me. I was only ten then. Now I am fifteen and I am still his prisoner.

He was going to marry my friend Belle. She is…" Ellie stopped herself before she revealed Belle's secret. "Belle is already married to Prince Adam. I didn't want to pull her away from her true love, never to get to be with him again and to forever be tortured by Bucks like I was. I couldn't stand by and let that happen to her, she's so kind, so I revealed my royal linage to him to get him to leave her alone. He wanted to be royal. I agreed to marry him and share my title if he would leave my friends alone. He can't harm any of his prisoners on this island or our deal is broken. So, you can at least rest assured that you are safe from harm at least."

Cody raised a brow at her, "Why would you stick your neck out for them when it meant getting stuck with that man forever?"

Ellie sighed, "Because they are my friends, and they are the only family I have left, besides the animals. I would love for my friends to get to go back to their homes, but at least I'm not alone any longer. Before they came all I had to talk to were the birds and the rats and the other animals around here."

"You talk to animals too," Cody asked surprised.

"Yeah, why? It's a trait I got from my mother…"

"Well, I talk to them as well, it's why I hate that stupid poacher that brought me here! I try to protect the animals around my area as best as I can because the rangers can't do anything. This is the second time that stupid guy caught me, but it's the first time he's shoved me off on someone else. He tried to get rid of me once before, but the mice saved me and the eagle he's hunting. So I got away and I kept protecting the animals around. I got careless and he caught me again and this time the rangers are closer to his trail then he'd like, I suppose that is why I ended up here."

Ellie looked up in surprise, "This is the first I've heard of someone else my age being able to talk to animals. I mean I know Arora and Snow can but they haven't had kids yet so I don't know any kids that can do it."

"Yeah, I can't say that I know anyone else that can talk to animals that is my age either," Cody admitted. "I'm Cody by the way."

Ellie smiled, "Well I'm Ellie Charming at your service."

"Hey, I've heard of you before, you're Prince Charming and Cinderella's daughter, aren't you. I think all the world knows about you, but everyone assumes you are dead…You're really alive though, and you've been this horrible man's prisoner all this time. And now you're sacrificing yourself and getting bound to that man forever just to protect your friends, you truly are an amazing woman Ellie."

Ellie blushed and looked away, "You should eat that food, you won't have another chance. He's probably only going to give you stale bread and a small cup of water once a day. You won't be getting any real food while you're here."

Cody took the tray of food and looked at Ellie, "You should get some sleep. I will keep watch, wake you if that man comes down here for you. It will take time, but I think my lizard friend in my pocket can pick the lock of this cell and we can get free."

Ellie sighed and shook her head, "Even if we did get free, there's no way out, we're underneath Bucks' personal bedroom, no one comes in or out of this cell without him knowing about it. We're stuck, and…I'm doomed." Ellie tried not to sound like despair, but she had lost all her hope and she didn't have anything left holding her up. Cody, it seemed, wasn't willing to give up that fast.

"We will find some way to save you from this Ellie, I won't let you give up. Now try to get some rest," he said gently.

She sighed but nodded and laid down on the cot to rest. The wedding the next day was coming far to fast for her liking. All of her emotions were crashing down on her all at once and she couldn't hold herself up any longer so she just gave up. Finally when it all seemed too much, she just crashed.

 **Sorry guys, I know I said the wedding would be the next chapter but I thought it would be nice for Ellie to have another friend that was her age that could talk to animals. I also thought this heart to heart between her and Cody would be a nice break from the drama of the rest of the story. Hope you guys all liked it and as always please comment and let me know what you think.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Ellie didn't sleep all night, too tired of everything and also dreading the coming morning and her forced wedding. Cody felt bad for her and stayed up with her, wanting to help her feel better and wanting her to smile. Slowly she came around and though she didn't talk, but she listened to him. She laid down on her cot, tired, but unable to sleep.

Finally, morning came and they couldn't avoid it any longer. Bucks came down with a smile on his face. He stopped in front of Ellie's cell door, waving the key to her cell in front of her.

"Good morning my bride. I am so excited to see you. We have your dress all ready and your servant Belle is going to help you get dressed. Once you are dressed, you will be going to the fish training ring. I thought it would be fitting that we were in the center ring for our wedding for everyone to see."

Ellie looked horror struck, "We can't be in the center ring, it's surrounded by water…" She paused, as if she had realized what she had said and sighed, "I mean, well, there is no way for me to get to the center ring without my nice wedding dress to get all dirty and wet…"

"Oh, I've taken care of it, I added floating steps so that you can glide right to the platform in the middle. Now lets get you up there to get dressed. The sooner we get married, the sooner I can claim you," Bucks said with a darker undertone to his voice.

Ellie swallowed and looked afraid, but it was Cody that answered, "Leave her alone you sick bastard! She's just a kid! She's just trying to protect her friends! Why are you being so mean and hateful to her!"

Bucks turned slowly to face Cody, anger clear in his eyes, though his outward appearance looked calm, "Listen here little boy, you are a guest in my barracks, but don't think that means I won't hurt you!"

Ellie's eyes grew wide with fear for her new friend, a friend she had grown even closer to over the night, and she didn't want to see Bucks hurt him, so she had to act. "Bucks, don't you want a kiss from your bride to be," she said quickly hoping to distract him from Cody.

Bucks looked up, clearly surprised at this, "Why yes, that would be very lovely."

"You have to unlock my cell first and I will be happy to kiss my husband to be," she said calmly.

Bucks thought about it and then finally agreed that it was worth the risk. He unlocked her cell and stepped up to her. Slowly Ellie came up and had to stand on tip toes to reach him, because he was so much taller then her, she kissed him, deeper then she wanted, but it was all for show, and he smiled. "That was very nice my dear, now lets get you up to Belle to get dressed."

Ellie looked down but slowly followed Bucks up the stairs. She didn't see Cody's look of concern, but she had managed to slip Cody a bobby pin so he could try to free himself. Bucks followed her all the way to her old room where Belle was waiting. Belle's ankles were in shackles but she was in her yellow ball gown. Bucks slammed the door behind her and locked her door until the wedding.

Belle looked up at Ellie with worry. "Ellie, you could still run you know. No one would be mad at you. We would all understand."

Ellie shook her head no, "Belle, no, I couldn't do that to the rest of you. If I ran away, the rest of you would have to face Bucks anger. I couldn't do that to all of you."

"Ellie, we wall would understand, no one would blame you. Bucks is a horrible man and we all worry about you. We don't want to see you married to that man. If you are married to him, who knows what harm he will do to you."

Ellie gave a tired sigh, "The harm will happen in his bedroom as soon as this wedding is over, but I can't help that. I _have_ to do this Belle, I can't see him hurt any of you. What would happen if he decided he wanted to take you into the bedroom Belle? You're going to be a mom soon, you should be more afraid of him then I am."

"I am afraid, afraid of what he will do to you. You are right that I am going to be a mom Ellie, and I would never want to see my own child put into this situation, and I do not want to see you in it. You can still run you know."

Ellie shook her head, showing how tired she really was, a stray tear escaping, "I've made up my mind Belle, and you can't change it, I am going through with this. Now will you help me get this dress on and fix my makeup so I don't look so tired or do I have to do it all myself?"

Belle sighed, "I'll help you, and you will be a beautiful bride, we'll still figure a way to save you from this, we owe it to your mom and dad."

Finally the dreaded time came and one of Bucks men unlocked her room and lead her and wedding. Belle was told to carry Ellie's vail and follow behind her to take her "alter" in the center ring. Slowly Ellie's heart sank, everyone was there. Ariel and King Triton was in the performance ring, floating there to watch the wedding. Aladdin, Sultan, Adam, and Eric were standing in the bleachers as "guests of the bride" with Bucks men carefully guarding them. Ellie's heart sank even more, hating seeing this. A second look into the crowd showed that all the spectators there were all "villains." Seeing Bucks dressed in his best, holding the triton as well, Ellie could not focus on the words of the priest running the wedding.

 **Meanwhile**

Pinocchio, his father, his cat, his fish, Cinderella, and Charles were coming from one of the many cliffs of the island. This cliff looked over a performance ring surrounded by water and they could see a crowd of people there and two people were standing in the middle. Charles looked down, pulling out his binoculars, and took a closer look.

"It looks like a wedding," Charles said.

"Well that's good, that means that this island has people on it," Cinderella said warmly.

Charles looked again and he blinked surprised, "Cinderella, I think that is Ellie!"

Cinderella blinked in surprise and gasped, pulling the binoculars with him looking through them, still around Charles neck, and gasped, "Charles that **IS** Ellie! She's alive! She looks so _sad_! We need to get down there!"

Charles nodded, "Lets go. Jeppetto, you and your family can stay here, you don't have to come down with us. It may be dangerous."

Jeppetto shook his head, "You helped me save my son, I am going to come with you to help save your daughter too."

 **Back down with Ellie**

"Do you take Mr. Thomas Bucks to be your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold, love and to cherish, to honor and obey, as long as you shall live," the bishop asked and Ellie looked up confused.

"What did you say," she asked looking up, her eyes still sad but she hid it well.

"Aw, that's so sweet, she's so happy that she lost her train of thought looking deeply into my eyes," Bucks said with a warm smile. "I can understand, I would get lost in my own eyes too. All you need to say is 'I do" honey and we will be married."

Ellie's eyes looked tormented, her friends up in the stands had been gagged to prevent them from speaking out. Ellie tired, "I…I…I…" Then from out of nowhere, a voice called out.

" **ELLIE** ," Ellie looked up with surprised eyes.

"Mom! Dad! I thought you were…" she couldn't believe her eyes.

"I know, we thought you were too," her mother said as they rushed down to her location with another man and a boy.

Bucks frowned, grabbing Ellie's arm roughly and tightly, snapping his fingers. Some of his men who had been playing guards ran forward, grabbing Charles and Cinderella and restraining them and Jeppetto and his family as well.

"Ellie, darling, all you have to do is say 'I do' and this will all be over," Bucks hissed. Ellie looked so torn, "unless you really would like them to die in the water in front of your very eyes!"

Ellie's eyes widened in fear, "You….You wouldn't!"

"I have the power of the triton, I control the water, I can do what I want," Bucks hissed and he made the triton glow a dangerous orange. Ellie lowered her eyes, a tear escaping.

"Ple…Please don't hurt them, I…I'll do what you want, just please…" Ellie closed her eyes, blocking out all the pain in them, "I…I do…"

Bucks smiled, he always got everything he wanted, "Then by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss your bride," the bishop said.

Bucks leaned in and roughly kissed her, a kiss that showed dominance, not love. Ellie kept her eyes shut the whole time. She knew what she had to do and she knew she had to act quickly and she was the only one who could. Without giving it another though, Ellie snatched the triton from Bucks' hand and tossed it into the water in King Triton's general direction. At the same time, a loud crowd of people were running at the center ring.

In this group was Arora and her husband and their army. There was also Snow White and her husband and their army, then there was Mulan and Shang and their forces. There was also Tarzan and Jane and their crew. On top of that was Eric's men and Skuddles and all the birds of Eric's kingdom. There were also a few other groups that were there to save the various royals that had been captured (I can't remember who all I said was coming to the rescue, sorry).

Bucks looked around at the large group of heroes that had assembled and frowned. He grabbed Ellie by her neck tightly and held her close to his body. "She's my wife now, legal and binding and complete, you can't do anything! She belongs to me!"


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Bucks held Ellie close to him and snapped his fingers and all of his men, not just the ones acting as guards, but all the rest of them too, as he had quite a few people working for him, came out and began to fight the heroes that attempted to crash the wedding. The villainous guest jumped into the fray and began to fight as well. Bucks went to take his escape away from the crowd, using Ellie as his shield. He started to take the back path he'd made in the ring out when Triton and Ariel got in his path.

"Not another step," Triton commanded, his triton glowing a dangerous red.

"Just let Ellie go and we'll let you pass," Ariel said gently.

"I think you will let me go and you won't try to stop me," Bucks said with a scary smile.

"And what makes you think I will let pass and get away after all you have done," Triton asked with a frown.

"Because I hold the trump card," he said producing a small dagger and holding it to Ellie's neck. "Of course if you really don't care about what happens to this girl then feel free to attack me, she'll most likely die in the struggle, but what's that to you, yet another human dead. The more dead humans, the merrier, right King Triton?"

Ellie's eyes were wide and fearful as the dagger was held to her neck, drawing a bit of blood. "Daddy, she risked everything to protect all of us. She gave you your triton back," Ariel whispered to her father.

Triton sighed and lowered his triton, "Alright, fine, I'll let you past me, but that doesn't mean you will get past the rest of these people that are here. Someone will stop you and all I can say is I hope they let me have a piece of you when you are finally stopped. There's no way they will let you just walk away with this child."

"We'll see about that Triton," Bucks hissed as he made his escape out of the ring, the fighting still going on. In all the commotion and fighting, Belle had tried to follow Ellie and Bucks but had been knocked into the water and Ariel had dove down to save her.

Bucks continued to escape when he was met by Cinderella and Charles. "Let her go," Charles growled in anger.

"Ah, if it isn't the Charmings, the dead king and queen," Bucks said in a mocking tone.

"I'm not going to ask again! Let. Her. Go!" Charles demanded in a growl.

"I'm sorry _king_ Charles," Bucks said in a mocking tone, "but your daughter is no long a Charming, her last name is now Bucks and she belongs to me. Of course she belonged to me long before I married her, but now it's official, she is my wife, she said I do, you can't break that. She was my slave, the dead princess, once a slave, now my wife. There is nothing you can do, the law everywhere states she is my wife."

Ellie's eyes filled with tears, "I…I'm sorry daddy, I…I didn't know you and mom were alive…I…I've worked for him for five years, ever since our ship wreck…I…I know what he is capable of…He was going to take Belle as his wife…I couldn't let him take her away from Adam…I had to protect everyone on this island, Prince Eric, Princess Ariel and her dad King Triton, Adam and Belle, the Sultan and Aladdin…I couldn't let anyone get hurt and the only way to do that was to marry him…He wanted my title…"

"A title you technically don't have any more since Lady Tremaine is the queen now that your parents are dead at sea and you are too, but whatever, we both know of your title. Of course you haven't had that title in a long time, now have you, you've had the title of slave, it was only as of yesterday that you actually got that title since Lady Tremaine sold you to me as a slave," Bucks said with an evil grin. "I could have easily made you mine then and there, after all, you belong to me now, but that wouldn't have been as much fun. Now you will be coming with me and we will be leaving this island on my ship," Bucks said, still backing away from the Charmings.

"Please just let our little girl go! I'll be your slave, I know how to do it, I did it for my step mother pretty much my whole life before I met and married Charles," Cinderella pleaded.

"Sorry Cinderella, but your daughter has served me for five years, and quite honestly, I am looking forward to finally getting to test drive her," Bucks said with a wicked smile that scared all of them.

"I don't think so," Came two voices from behind him and Bucks paused when two points greeted his back.

"Your men have fallen Bucks, all of our friends came to our rescue and the good guys overtook your men," Ellie was so glad to hear Adam and Eric's voices behind her, even if the dagger was still at her neck.

Bucks frowned, "If you want my wife to survive this, then I suggest you back off, I still have the dagger to his neck."

"And I have a revolver, now that my people came, I was finally given weapons to defend myself and to free other prisoners," Eric said, "Now let Ellie go!"

Eric kept the revolver at the back of Bucks neck as others in the group of heroes came and finally Bucks lowered his dagger and shoved Ellie away, Ellie falling at her parents feet. Cinderella and Charles gently bend down to Ellie's side to check on her. Another of Eric's men came up with cuffs and cuffed Bucks hands behind his back and led him away. Belle ran up to Ellie with worried eyes.

"Ellie, are you alright! Did he hurt you," she asked with worry.

"I'm fine Belle, what about you? I heard you fall in the water as Bucks was pulling me away," Ellie looked worried.

"I'm fine, both me and the baby, Ariel dove down and saved me from the water and after I met up with Adam, he and I hurried here to help you," Belle replied with a smile.

"And the others," Ellie asked.

"Everyone is safe Ellie, the good guys always win."

"What about Cody," Ellie asked with worry.

"The Australian boy? We couldn't find him. He wasn't in the cell blocks with us and we couldn't find him anywhere else on the island," Belle replied.

"He's in a cell block that is under Bucks floor in his room. It's very well hidden and there's no way in or out without going through Bucks room. I have to go help him."

Before anyone could stop her, Ellie jumped up and ran off. She ran past the group of heroes who were still rounding up the villains and to Bucks room. She stopped long enough to pull the hatch up in his floor and ran down the stairs.

Cody looked up quickly when he heard someone hurrying down the stairs and stopped picking his lock and hid the bobby pin. When he saw that it was Ellie in a wedding dress, he stopped and looked around for Bucks. Ellie grabbed the key off the wall, the same one Bucks had used that morning to free her, and freed Cody. He wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug and then looked around.

"Wait, where is Bucks? You shouldn't be down here freeing me, he'll punish you," Cody said with worry.

"You don't have to worry about that. He's been captured, the reinforcements came. We're safe," Ellie assured.

"And the wedding," he asked carefully.

"Unfortunately went through as he planned, I am now Ellie Bucks, however I have a feeling it won't stand up if he tries to claim it, not after all of this."

"I hope you're right."

"I hope so too. So…you're from Australia? Do you want a ride home? I'm sure someone here with a ship would be happy to give you a ride home."

"Yeah, I probably should go home but…what about you? What will happen to you?"

"Cody, I'll be fine, mom, dad, and I will go back to our kingdom and reclaim our land and the throne from my step grandmother. I'll be fine."

"I should be too, I just worry what McLeach will do when he finds out I am free. I don't want my mother to get in danger because I am free and can turn him in…"

"Cody, you and your mother could always come stay at our kingdom until McLeach is caught…"


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

The heroes were able to wrap up pretty quickly after Bucks was caught and he was to be kept in a prison in Cinderella and Charles Charming's kingdom since it had been Ellie he'd kept kidnapped for the longest. The other heroes insisted that Ellie be the one to decide his fate, but Ellie didn't want anything to do with it. Eric took Bucks' men to his own kingdom because they didn't want Bucks and his men held together and plotting, and the Charming's kingdom was right next to Eric's kingdom so there wasn't a problem there either, they were still close.

Mulan and her team were awarded medals of bravery by Sultan and his daughter Jasmine for returning Aladdin and Sultan safely and taking Jafar down. Jane and Belle got a chance to catch up and Belle agreed to come back with Jane to meet her husband's family and see how Africa was treating her. Belle and Jane were happy to get to see each other again and Jane was happy that Belle was safe and even happier to hear that Belle was going to be a mother. Of course Adam agree to join them in Africa after he took down Gaston. The other royals went back to their own kingdoms to report the good news of Bucks finally being captured and locked up for life.

Ellie was very happy to find out that King Triton had agreed to let Ariel become a human and marry Prince Eric on the land. Ariel in return had agreed to at least come back to the waters where she would visit with her dad, and with the marriage, it seemed that things were mending between the sea creatures and humans, or at least some humans. Ellie and Ariel helped to release all the poor sea creatures that Bucks had captured and taken away from their homes and Triton helped them find their way back to their homes and families. Ellie had also liberated the rats Victor and Xavier from the cells on the island and they joined the other mice that were her mother's friends.

They also took Cody back to Australia and helped reunite him with his mother. McLeach couldn't be found and there was still a danger of him coming after Cody and his mother once he found out that Bucks had been taken down so Ellie and her family agreed to host Cody and his mother until the danger had past and McLeach had been caught. Ellie had also gone with Cody to warn the giant eagle that McLeach was after her and her eggs. And Ellie was very happy to know that at least she'd have a friend, around her age, that could talk to animals too, that would be around to keep her company because so many thought she was weird because she talked to animals.

Ellie loved having Cody around, but still she kept her distance from pretty much everyone. It had been two months since their freedom and still Ellie was having trouble. After all those years of torment and isolation, it was hard for her to be back in a world of people who cared about her. She found places to hide and would stay there for hours on end. She'd take her horse out for a run and riding it helped clear her mind. She hated the thought that Bucks was still near her, in her own kingdom, and just the thought of it made her skin crawl.

Cody found her one day on the roof of the castle, near the edge, quietly thinking. "You know I wouldn't suggest jumping. Jumping from this height would without a doubt kill you, unless you had some help in saving you, trust me, I know, I've fallen before, I just have animal friends who have helped save me."

Ellie sighed, "No Cody, it's not that, and no, I am not planning on jumping, I just needed to clear my head."

"Seems to me you have been trying to do that for a while, like ever since we came back here. It seems that it would be hard to escape your personal demons when the man that captured and held you captive for so many years is locked up here. It's okay to show weakness now you know, you are among people who care about you now. You can talk about it if you want…" Cody said softly putting a hand on her shoulder.

Ellie sighed, "It's not that easy Cody. That man…the way he worked…he gets into your head, messes with what you think you know…I…I was forced to marry him to protect the people I cared about…Add to that I spent five years thinking my parents were dead and then finding out that I am not an orphan and that my parents are alive…I don't even know where to start. I came back home to a kingdom where I am considered a freak because I can talk to animals, well, at least I am a freak around kids my own age…Mom and dad are going to want to look for suitors for me because I _am_ a _princess_ , but no one really wants to marry a freak who can talk to animals. Besides that, I don't know if I can get married to anyone, not after that crazy stunt Bucks pulled. I worry that I will freak out when go to the alter with someone I barely know and have a panic attack…But my people are counting on me to one day marry so I can become their queen when mom and dad step down, but I don't know how to rule…There's too much going on in my head right now and I don't know how to sort it out…"

"Hey, look at me," Cody said gently lifting her chin so they were looking at each other in the eyes. "You are not a freak because you talk to animals, and anyone who thinks that is crazy. Look at you dad, he was a prince and he was expected to marry someone with a title but he chose your mother, a maid with no status, who talks to animals. I don't know much about your family or your kingdom, but I don't think they will force you to get married, I think they will wait till you're ready. I mean, you have been through a lot, a lot more then any one person should have to face in a lifetime and you faced it in a matter of years. I don't think anyone will force you to do anything you don't want to. I think your parents are just happy to have you back. Remember, they spent all those years thinking you were dead too, so you are not alone in that either. And as far as finding a guy to like you, don't worry about that either, after all, I am a guy and I like you.

I mean I didn't at first, but that was because I thought you were one of Bucks' lackies and wanted me locked up. Once I got to know you, I saw you had a heart of gold and that you cared about everyone, even the smallest of animals, and you wouldn't leave anyone behind. Everyone else was ready to leave that island, but you weren't ready to leave until you found me and freed me. Not many people care that much. You are a very special person Ellie and someone will be very lucky to get you as a wife, some day. I know I am lucky to have you as a friend, and I am very thankful for that." Ellie lifted her eyes in surprise and looked at Cody and he shrugged. "And if you are still worried about being around Bucks, why don't you just take a vacation for a short while. I am sure your parents will understand that you need some distance between you and him."

Ellie closed her eyes as a tear escaped, "I…I just can't be around him. Him being here reminds me every day that I married him. Him being here reminds me that I was trapped with him for all those years as nothing more then his own personal slave, and I have the scares to prove that, scares that a princess should never have. But…as bad as I was treated, Eric was treated far worse. He got hurt a lot more then I did, and for protecting me or Ariel, not even for protecting himself, honestly, Eric should be far worse off then I am…"

"Then why don't you go see him? He and Ariel got married and I thought I heard your mom and dad say they just got back from their honeymoon. Maybe you could go see them. You said that Eric would be the only person who would really understand what you went though, so go and see him. I'm sure your parents wouldn't mind since he is the next kingdom over from yours and he is very kind. And I am sure he wouldn't mind you coming to see him either. He was very nice to you after all. He seemed to care about you and what happened to you and checked on you several times after you were all free. Maybe taking a break and going to visit him would be a good thing."

Ellie sighed, "Would he really want me to visit him? Wouldn't I just be a reminder of that hell he endured and managed escape?"

"You endured a lot longer then he did, I think he's just as worried about you as your parents are. Ellie, no one your age should have to endure that life, and certainly not as long as you did. Ellie you were a victim, but you survived and now you need to remember you have others that care a lot about you and only want to help…"

"You mean people like…you," She asked carefully looking into Cody's eyes, all of her vulnerability showing.

"Yes Ellie, like me, I am your friend and I care a lot about you."

Ellie was overwhelmed with the fact that she had so many people that cared about her. She smiled weakly, "So you think I should call Eric?"

"If you think that is what is best…But before you go there to visit, I would for sure tell your parents, they would really be worried if you just were gone without telling them anything. I would guess they would worry something had happened to you and they had lost you again," Cody added.

Slowly Ellie nodded, "Alright, I will give it a go and call them and talk to them…Maybe Eric has been struggling too. I'm a bad friend for not checking on them sooner…"

"Ellie, you've been through a lot and you're struggling to handle it all now that you are finally free, I don't think anyone blames you for that," Cody added softly.

Ellie nodded and pulled out her phone. She looked at it a long moment before finally dialing Eric. He answered after the second ring, "Ellie, are you alright? Everything okay? Bucks hasn't broken free or hurt you or anything," Eric asked sounding worried.

"No…No, Eric, I'm…fine…Cody seemed to think it would be a good idea for me to call you…I…I have been so caught up in how I felt and how Bucks treated me that I forgot that there were others that suffered at his hands too, I wasn't his own prisoner…"

"No Ellie, you weren't, but you were the one who was treated the worst, had the most abuse…Honestly, Ariel and I have been meaning to call you and check to see how you were doing, but time just seems to escape you. We had a lot of duties we had to do when we got back from the honeymoon since we are the new king and queen of this kingdom. That's no excuse I know, but still, we should have taken the time to check on you. We tried to talk the others into letting us keep Bucks here because we didn't think it was a good idea to leave him in your kingdom where he could get to you if he ever escaped, but the others didn't seem to agree. The others seemed to think that since he did the most harm to you, you and your parents had the rights to keep him in your kingdom…"

"No…it's okay, really it's just…I…I was his captive for so long and I…I don't know what to do now…I don't know how to be a princess now…I…I know the kingdom is looking forward to me finding a suitor and settling down so that the kingdom is well provided for if anything happened to mom and dad…Someone who will help me rule the kingdom, but…I…I don't know if I can do that…All the guys my age think I am weird because I talk to animals, and I don't know how to be a normal princess because although I was born a princess, I spent five years doing heavy labor for Bucks and hide that I was a princess…There are some that would say I am not the best to take over the kingdom if something happened to mom and dad…I know finding a suitor is important because if something did happen to mom and dad, well, Lady Tremaine would want to take over, saying I was too young and don't know what I am doing nor do I have someone to help me run it…"

"Oh Ellie, I'm so sorry you have so many worries going on all at once…Is there any way we can help," Eric asked with concern.

"Well…I haven't talked to mom and dad yet, but…if they said it was okay…could I come and visit you and Ariel for a little bit? I…I just think I need to get away for a short while…Away from all the pressures of this kingdom and away from Bucks…And Cody seemed to think it would be good to go see someone who was mistreated by Bucks too and I know you got the worst of his treatment and I'm sure you still have the bad cuts from his whip marks…I was really worried about you, but we didn't have time to linger after the wedding, we had to get to our own kingdom and let the people know we were here for them and that we cared about the kingdom…I just…I thought maybe…But if it's too much trouble, I…I understand," she added quickly.

"No Ellie, it's not too much trouble at all. We would be happy to welcome you here. And believe me Ellie, I know all too well what it is like for your kingdom to pressure you into trying to find someone to marry so you can produce offspring so your kingdom will always have future rulers. Grimsbee was always throwing girls at me before I met Ariel. He was only trying to help me, but it was annoying and I felt trapped. I wanted to find someone that would love me for me and want to be with me, I wanted to find love, not just a queen. And I know with everything you've been through, especially with Bucks forcing you to marry him, finding a suitor will be really hard on you. If you need to come here to escape the pressure for a little bit, I understand and if your parents are willing then Ariel and I would be happy to have you. I'm sure even King Triton would be happy to see you…"

"You think he'd be happy to see me? I was the one who forced him to preform like a dancing monkey. I figured he'd hate me…"

"You were also the one who tossed his triton back to him and gave him his power back. You were the only one who could have gotten close enough to Bucks to do that. He is very thankful that you were there Ellie. If you hadn't been there and done that, Ariel and he might still be under his power and who knows, we might all still be his prisoners…You did a very brave thing that saved us all Ellie and we are all very thankful for you. If your parents agree, you can come and stay here for as long as you want…"

"Ca…Can Cody come too," she asked on the spur of the moment. Cody looked up surprised.

"The boy from Australia? Sure, if he wants to come…" Eric replied surprised. "Our kingdom is always open for visitors."

"It's just…He's been a good friend and very supportive and I figured…well, since he's away from home right now anyways, he ought to get to explore more and you have more sea life then we do…I just thought it would be fun for him…"

"Sure, Cody is welcome to come as well if he wants to," Eric said and Ellie could feel his smile through the phone.

"Thanks Eric, I really appreciate this…I'm going to head off…I still haven't asked mom and dad…I…I'll let you know what they say…"

"Okay. And Ellie…" Eric added and paused, "…Don't forget that you have a lot of friends and that we care about you. You never have to be alone again…"

"Alright, thanks Eric," Ellie smiled and hung up looking at Cody. "Thank you, that was a good suggestion…I…I didn't mean that you had to come…You don't have to come if you don't want to…"

"Ellie, I'm honored that you wanted to invite me. I'm sure that my mom won't mind. She's enjoying getting to know your mom and dad and I know she will be safe with them here and that McLeach can't get her here so I don't mind going if she doesn't mind…"

Ellie smiled, "Thank you for understanding…It's a couple days ride over to Eric's kingdom…Do you think you can make it there on horseback," Ellie asked.

"I think I can manage," He said walking back into the palace with her.

Ellie explained it all to her parents and though they were worried about her, they understood her need to get away. They agreed to let her go as long as she agreed to take a guard with her and Cody didn't count as a guard. Cody's mother also agreed, under the same stipulations, that a guard accompanied the both of them. Grudgingly Ellie agreed and they assigned her the Captain of the guard, a close friend of her father's and someone they knew to be loyal to them and would protect Ellie with his life if need be. They were scheduled to leave for Eric's kingdom the next day, first thing.

 **End Note: Sorry this chapter was longer, I thought it a good idea to show that Ellie and Cody's friendship had grown since they were freed. I also thought it would be a good idea to send Ellie to Eric's kingdom to help her deal with everything she had been through with Bucks. Thinking of having the next chapter where Ellie's dad becomes protective daddy and goes and talks to Bucks, but I don't know. Either way, Ellie and Cody going to Eric's kingdom is coming up.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Charles and Cinderella were sad to see Ellie go, but they understood. They felt useless in being able to help Ellie through this. Though they couldn't help her, they hoped that maybe Eric or Ariel could and so they agreed to let her go. They were quite pleased she had asked Cody to come because it seemed that through all of this she had at least found one friend. One thing was for sure, they were worried about her.

After Ellie, Cody, and the captain of the guard had left for Eirc's kingdom, Charles paced. He was really worried about Ellie. He and Cinderella had just gotten her back and now things were changing again. It was true he knew things would never be the same as they were before their boat crashed in that storm, but he had hoped they'd at least be able to get through it as a family. Sadly things hadn't worked out that way.

Finally Charles couldn't stand it any longer. He didn't know what all had happened to Ellie while that man Bucks had kept her locked up. Ellie hadn't wanted to talk about it and he wouldn't make her. However, he knew someone who knew what had happened to Ellie in her captivity and he knew where to find them. Bucks was locked up here in his own kingdom and he could visit him any time he needed to. Cinderella didn't think it was the best idea, but Charles needed to do _**something**_.

He walked into the area where Bucks was held and the first thing he saw was Bucks' smirk. "Well if it isn't the dead prince here to visit a lowly prisoner. Tell me Prince Charming, to what do I owe this honor," Bucks mocked.

"Shut up! You know why I am here! You knew I would come," Charles growled.

It wasn't a question, but Bucks answered it anyways, "Yes, I knew either you or your wife one would come see me. Although I have to admit that I am quite sad that my wife hasn't come even once to visit me."

"She's **NOT** your **WIFE** ," Charles thundered. "Ellie is free to make her own choices and she didn't chose to marry you, she was forced to under threat of you harming innocent people that she cared about! That is not love and your marriage _**will not**_ stand up in the law!"

Bucks shook he head, an amused chuckle escaping, "You seem to think that she is fully in control of her own actions. What you don't get is that I _**own**_ her! She was my prisoner for five years and served me faithfully all those years. It's true that at first I had to break her in a bit, as I am sure you could tell from the faded scares on her back, or the fact that she won't go anywhere near the water now, but once I broke her, she fully belonged to me!"

Charles growled and grabbed Buck's shirt collar through the bars and pulled him to the front of the bars. Anger burned in his eyes, "Ellie _**isn't**_ your property! She _**is FREE**_! You will never lay a hand on her again, do you hear me!"

Bucks was as calm as ever and smiled at Charles, "Rest assured Prince Charming, Ellie belongs to me and I always take back what is mine. I won't be held in this cell forever and when I do get out, I'll take down your family first and then I'll take my cabin boy back. You all think you have me trapped here, but by locking me up in the same kingdom that my wife is in, you assured that I would get her back."

"Well the joke is on you then because Ellie isn't eve here now. She went away on vacation. So, even if you did get out, and you won't, you'd never be able to get your hands on her. She is free of your clutches and will never be ensnared by you again!"

"Ah, but Charming, I have something up my sleeve that will assure that she will come running back to my arms," Bucks said with a smirk.

"Oh yeah, and what might that be," Charles asked amused.

"Why her parents of course. My little Ellie will sacrifice everything she has to protect you and your wife because she has already lost you once and she won't lose you again. So you see, I have the upper hand."

"You have nothing but this jail cell and you are going to rot away in it forever," Charles snarled.

"Oh, not forever, just for now. But I will get out, and when I do, I will come after your little family and then Ellie will come running back to my arms. As I said, I always keep my things," Bucks smirked.

" **IS THAT A THREAT** ," Charles thundered.

"No, Prince Charming, it's a promise," Bucks said in a cocky, self-confident tone.

Charles stormed out in total anger. He yelled at the guards to have round the clock supervision on Bucks and they snapped to attention, afraid to take their king's anger.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

It didn't take that long for Ellie, Cody and the captain of the guard to get to Eric's kingdom, only a day. Ellie rode as fast as she could on her horse and the others had to really work at it to keep up with her. Cody knew that Ellie was just trying to outrun the memories of Bucks. Even though she was going fast, the other two were able to keep up and they made it to Eric's kingdom in one day when normally it would taken a day and a half to two days.

Eric was surprised they were early but he and Ariel were very pleased to see them. They knew Ellie was really struggling and they wanted to help however they could.

It was on her third day there that Ariel walked in and saw Ellie's bare back. "Ellie! What did that man do to you!"

Ellie quickly pulled her shirt over her back to cover up the marks and sighed. "Well…I…I didn't just follow him right away. He had to "train" me, and he did it in other ways besides just dropping me in the water in that net…He started by using the same whip he used on Eric. I learned really quick that it was best to just obey without arguing. Then he had all of you and he didn't need to use punishments because he had you all to get me to comply."

Without giving it a second thought, Ariel pulled Ellie into a hug. Tears were streaming in Ariel's eyes and she felt so bad. "Ellie, I am so sorry. I'm sorry you had to go through so much with him before you could be rescued."

Ellie sighed, "It's okay, I just had to get out of the kingdom. He is locked up, sure, but he's still there and I needed to be away from him." Ellie closed her eyes and sighed, "I lost myself there, I did everything he told me to just so I wouldn't be tormented. I hurt a lot of fish by making them work harder then they should have because I was afraid of getting hurt."

"Ellie, you can't blame yourself for that, it's not your fault, it's his fault. He was the one who made you do that. After all, daddy and I don't blame you for how hard you worked us, and we were worked really hard. It's not your fault, it's all Bucks."

Ellie sighed, "Maybe you're right."

"Hey, I noticed the way you and that Cody boy act around each other," Ariel said with a smile, changing the subject on purpose.

Ellie looked up and blinked in surprise, "Cody? He and I are just friends…He's just been helping me through all this…"

Ariel smiled, "And Eric was just the human I saved from the hurricane…It always starts off innocent, but that can change. He likes you, I can tell."

"How can you tell," She asked with a tilt of her head. Ellie had never known much of love other then the love her parents had for her, but courting, that was something totally different.

"The way he looks at you, the way he acts around you, the way he smiles at you. And he cares very deeply about you. He could have gone with any of us after he was freed, he was offered as much, but he chose to take himself and his mother to your kingdom. He cares about you Ellie," Ariel added.

"Then why doesn't he say something," she asked confused.

"I would guess he wants to give you time to heal. He knows how upset you were at having been forced to marry Bucks. He also knows how torn you feel right now. My guess is he doesn't want you to have to worry about one more thing. Besides, if he's anything like most, he worried about your royal title. Eric and I didn't have to worry about that because he was a prince on land and I was a princess of the sea, but a lot of people that fall in love with royals do have to worry about it.

Look at your mother, she had to worry about it when she fell in love with your father and found out he was the prince. She knew her stepmother would never let her see him again because she wanted to keep her in her servant's position, and she knew she was considered common, so she couldn't possibly marry your father. But true love won out in the end since they are married. I would guess Cody feels the same way. You are a princess, he is just a common boy from Australia, he probably feels like he has no right to like you because you have to marry a royal and all your relationships have to be prearranged. But trust me, if it is true love, it will win out in the end."

Ellie tilted her head and thought about it and then slowly nodded, "I suppose that's true, but I am not your normal royal. I was a servant for five years, not a princess, and I don't really want to be treated like a princess now. I just want to be myself, whoever that is. I want to be normal, I don't want others to tell me who I have to be."

Ariel smiled, "Then don't let others tell you who you can or have to be. Choose that for yourself and don't let anyone tell you who you have to be or what you have to do."

Slowly Ellie nodded and then her eyes grew wide, "Oh, I almost forgot! I brought the cream to use on Eric's back and help fix his whip marks…I wanted to help him…He got a lot of those whip marks because of me. I feel bad…"

Eric chose that time to come in, "Grimsbee just announced dinner being ready…" He paused seeing the look on Ellie's face and saw the cream. "Ellie, is everything okay?"

Ellie sighed, "It's my fault you got a lot of those whip marks on your back, so I brought you the cream that will heal it a lot faster."

"Ellie, you are not to blame. Bucks is a horrible man who likes to cause pain. That isn't your fault. You helped me so much. You tried to help heal my wounds, you looked out for me, and you tried to make sure I knew how to do my job the way Bucks wanted me to. You were amazing," Eric argued.

Tears pricked at the corner of her eyes and she tried to blink them away. Without warning, she wrapped her arms around Eric, hiding her face in his shoulder. He and Ariel hugged her and just let her cry. They both knew she needed to get this out and they wanted to help her. Once the tears finally subsided she pulled back and looked at Eric and Ariel.

"I…I'm sorry. I…I never cry any more because crying is a weakness, but…I couldn't hold it in anymore…"

"Ellie, you are fine, you needed to let it out, it's not good to keep those tears in. Sometimes even the strongest person needs to cry a little bit, no one here will ever judge you for that. You're only fifteen and you are so strong for your age. We are all here for you," Eric said softly and smiling at her.

Ellie wiped at a stray tear and smiled at him, "Thank you Eric, I really needed this time away. I know mom and dad are really worried about me, but I don't know how to talk to them about this. I think they let me come here because they don't know what to do with me and they think you can…."

"Ellie, I grew up with your father and I know him very well, after all, we are neighboring kingdoms. I know how much he loves you. I know he was so proud when you were born. He would do anything to protect you. And I met your mother at your parent's wedding and I have kept close contact with her and him over the years, they are good friends of mine. Your mother has a heart of gold, just like you. I know that they are both very worried about you. They just want to help you. Your parents called me after you left and we talked a long while.

Your father feels responsible because he couldn't help you. Your mother feels horrible because she couldn't protect you. She wishes she could have been in your place because she is use to the hard work and hateful people controlling everything about her life. She wishes she could change this for you. They both are worried about you. They begged me to protect you and to look after you."

Ellie gave a weak smile, "I just don't know how to tell them. You were not the only one who was whipped…That's how I know how to treat your wounds…The mice brought plants to me and told me how to make it into that cream to put in the wounds. Mine healed, but the scares are still there. I don't look like a princess should…" She lowered her head.

"And I don't look like a king should Ellie. I help on my own ships, I know the value of hard work, I'm not afraid of it. Just because you have been through a rough time and you've got the scares to show it, that doesn't mean you can't be a princess. Ellie, let me ask you a simple question."

She slowly looked up, "Yes?"

"Do you care about your people? Care about what happens to them? Do you love your land? Care about what happens to it? Do you love your subjects like they are family?"

Ellie looked confused, "Of course I do Eric, they are my people, the land is my home. I need to take care of them and take care of the land. They are what makes up my kingdom, without them, I don't have a kingdom, so of course they are my family. I care about what happens to them. That's why I was so shaken when my stepgrandmother came to the island. The thought of her running my kingdom made me cry because I know that she don't care about them or about the land, she only cares about the power and the title and the money. When we got home, we found she had raised the taxes of the people and some of those people lost their homes because of her. They are living in refugee camps."

"And what did you do about it," he asked softly.

"Mom and I made baked some bread and baked goods and got fresh produce from our gardens and took it to the refugee camps and made sure they had food. We helped take care of the sick and made sure they all had enough blankets and supplies until we could get their homes back for them."

Eric and Ariel smiled, "Sounds like a princess to me."

"What do you mean Eric," Ellie asked.

"You care deeply about your people. You want to help them however you can. You truly are a princess."

"I wanted to bring the refugees into the castle to live but I was outvoted on that. The royal courts said it wouldn't be safe because those people were all "liars and thieves and criminals, but I don't agree. I want to make sure the kids are in school and that those families have enough food to eat."

"See Ellie, you care about your people," Ariel added, "you are a princess."

Ellie blinked in surprise, "Yo…You really think so?" They both nodded and she smiled, "I hope you are right. I want to do right by my people but I feel like I am failing. What Bucks did really messed me up…" She paused, "I never thought about what our absence did to our people, what they had to suffer from under my step-grandmother's hand. I should be there helping them…"

"Are you really ready to go back Ellie? If you are, Eric and I can take you ourselves," Ariel replied.

"I…I want to be ready, but…I'm still scared…What if I fail. What if Bucks gets out? He still considers me his wife…" Ellie looked sad again.

"Ellie, you're not that man's wife. You were his slave, not his wife…" Cody said walking up. "S…Sorry Ellie, I didn't mean to listen in to your conversation, but I told Grimsbee I would see what was taking you all…He wants us all down for dinner…"

Eric looked at Ariel with a smirk and Ariel nodded. "Cody, why don't you and Ellie take dinner on the balcony? It's a beautiful evening and the sun is just setting. It would make for a really nice dinner. Ariel and I have affairs of state to attend to that would just bore both of you."

Cody looked up surprised and blinked, "I…I don't know…It depends what Ellie wants…I can take dinner in my room if she doesn't want to eat dinner alone with me…"

Ellie looked between the three of them and then slowly nodded, "No…really Cody, it's fine…I would really enjoy having dinner on the balcony with you…"

Cody looked very surprised, "Really? You'd like that? Then…Then yeah…Dinner on the balcony would be great…"

They both blushed and Ariel and Eric smirked as they started to walk away. "I'll send the dinner up for the both of you," Eric said and with that they were gone, leaving Ellie and Cody alone.

 **Okay all, sorry this chapter was so long. Ellie had a lot to work through, and I didn't want to shorten that. Next chapter will be about Ellie and Cody and them getting to know each other better and a possible romance blooming…I'm trying not to rush that. As always reviews are always welcome.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Fair warning, this chapter is long. It is a lot longer then I had planned, but I put a lot in it. I would say sorry, but I'm not. I took time for Ellie and Cody to get to know each other, but I also felt like it needed to get back to Ariel's story, so that's what I did. I hope you enjoyed it. As always, reviews are welcome.**

 **Chapter 17**

Cody sat awkwardly on the balcony with Ellie, not sure what to say. He cared deeply for Ellie, but he didn't want to push her into anything. Ellie had been through a lot and she needed time to heal. Plus, Cody wasn't an idiot, Ellie was a princess and he was just a common person, there could never be anything between them, he wasn't exactly a prince. So here he was, sitting across from a girl who had managed to capture his heart and he couldn't tell her.

Ellie watched Cody fiddle with his food and watched how he kept looking down at his feet. She couldn't figure him out. Then again, that was no surprise since the only men she had known in her life besides her father had been Bucks and his men and they weren't exactly the example you wanted to look at. Still, Ellie had never seen Cody so quiet before and it confused her.

"Cody," she asked softly.

Slowly Cody looked up, but he didn't look her directly in her eyes, rather he looked at her through his messy blonde bangs, "Yeah Ellie?"

"Is everything alright? This is the quietest you have been since that night we were locked in the cages below Bucks room. Is everything alright?"

"'Dis boy in love wid you Ellie, why can't you see that," Sabastian said showing up on their table out of nowhere.

"Sabastian? Where did you come from," Ellie asked.

Sabastian shook his head, "I was down wid Ariel and felt like you needed me more. You two worse den dat girl when it comes to love!"

"Wh…What are you talking about Sabastian," Ellie asked blushing, though it didn't escape her eyes that Cody also blushed.

"You two crazy 'bout each odder but you too scared to tell each odder. Ellie, you don' need to fear dat man no more, he gone, locked up. And Cody, geeze man, jus' tell da girl how you feel already," Sabastian said exasperated.

Ellie looked up, surprised, "Cody," she asked carefully.

Cody sighed, "Doesn't matter how I feel. You have a lot to work out, and I won't rush that, but even if you didn't have a lot to work out…Ellie, you're a princess and I'm just common, we could never get together, it's not allowed. You have to marry a prince one day…I'm not a prince, nowhere near…"

Ellie sighed and shook her head, "Cody, is that what has been bothering you all this time? Is that why you've been so quiet? Cody, I don't care about my title, I don't want it. I will become queen, yes, but only because I am my parent's only child. But just because I am going to become a queen one day, it doesn't mean that I have to marry a prince. I don't want a prince. All the princes I have met have been stuck up and only care about themselves. The ones who aren't that way are either taken or can't marry me because they are up for their own throne. And besides, who says I have to marry a prince? My mother wasn't a princess, she was just a scullery maid and she still married my dad, a prince."

Cody nodded, "Yeah, I heard about that…" he said quietly and Ellie sighed.

"Cody…Look at me…" Slowly Cody looked up, "Tell me the truth…please? How do you feel about me?" Ellie's eyes were soft and caring and full of understanding, no judgement there.

Cody sighed, "It…It's not that easy…It…I mean…I like you a lot…You are an amazing girl. You've been through so much, but here you are still living your life. You were tortured by that man for five years and you knew that you'd be trapped with him for life if you married him but you did it anyways to protect everyone else. You could have easily just stayed back and let him do his own thing, but you didn't you stood up for your friends.

You are an amazing woman! You are so strong, so brave, so courageous, so…beautiful…" He added the last part slowly and blushed.

Ellie blinked in surprise and then blushed as well, "I…I'm really not all that great…"

"Ellie, don't you see how great you are," Cody asked.

"I'm not that great," Ellie said looking down. Cody wanted to argue, but he knew it was pointless. "I suppose this is how mom felt. She cared about dad but she was just a maid. Her step-mother made her feel worthless, so she didn't think highly of herself. It was only because her animal friends, the mice and birds, encouraged her that she had the courage to go down to meet the grand duke and try on the slipper. I suppose I should try to get some of that courage from her, but I don't know if I can. I…I'm scared…"

"What are you scared of Ellie," Cody asked gently.

"I'm scared of…Bucks…" Ellie finally looked up at Cody and sighed. "He ran my life for five years. For five years he told me how to dress, when and what I could eat, what I was to do with my day, when and where I could sleep…I didn't have any control over my life and I just, well, I don't know, I'm scared to start making choices for myself. Scared that it might all go wrong. Scared that he might get free and come after me. I'm just…scared…"

"Ellie, if there is one thing I do understand it's fear…I mean I had to leave my home country to get away from McLeach. That man never would have stopped looking for me and would use any weakness he could. When he went after me when I was younger, he was going to feed me to the crocodiles to get rid of me and he would have had Dave and Miss Bianca not saved me…Now that I am older, he might go after my mother. We had no choice but to run. That's really scary, to have to leave the only home you know to go to a completely different continent, an new kingdom, but you have to face that fear. And just so you know, coming to your parent's kingdom was great because it gave me a chance to get to know you better and to watch out for you, like friends do…I guess I foolishly thought that maybe one day we could become more then just friends…" At this Cody had to look down, a blush creeping in.

"Cody, I'm glad you and your mother came to our kingdom. Your mother has been a great help with helping our people that got displaced when my step-grandmother took their homes from them. And you, well, you have been so kind, and so patient with me, giving me so much time to process all of this. I am grateful. And…Maybe we can take the time to get to know each other better…go on a few dates…" At this Cody looked up.

"But I'm not a…"

"Cody, I don't care if you are or aren't a prince, that has never been what I was looking for. You are kind and caring and I think you would help me rule fairly, you would treat our people with kindness, as if they were your own family. That is what I love about you. You are very caring, it doesn't matter the person, or creature's size, you are there to help. You also understand my love for animals and that I can talk to them and you don't think that is strange or weird. You'd be surprised how many princes want my title so they can be king, but they think my talking to animals and caring about them is strange. It makes me feel very out of place and I don't like it, but with you, I feel…normal…"

"Ellie, you are normal," Cody argued.

"And that is why I love spending time with you, you understand me, and you haven't known me that long. It makes me feel…loved and appreciated, even special, and I haven't felt that in five years. That is why I know that you would be great in our kingdom. You are genuine and caring, not fake."

Cody smiled at her, "Well, I thank you for that…"

"So Cody, to answer you…I would be happy to try and date you…"

Cody looked at her surprised, "Y…You're sure?"

"Very," she said with a smile.

They both smiled and that was when they heard a voice coming from the sea shore. It sounded like a woman singing. Ellie looked up and could see the woman had a glowing seashell around her neck, but Cody seemed mesmerized. Without another word, Cody got up from the table and started to walk down the hall.

Ellie followed him only to see that Eric had the same vacant look that Cody did and they both seemed to be walking to the seashore. Ellie looked at Ariel for an explanation, but Ariel just shrugged, she didn't know what was going on either. They both followed the men to the seashore and saw that the woman was wearing all purple and standing on the rock that Eric had first met Ariel on. Ariel's eyes widened and she shook her head.

"What is it Ariel," Ellie asked with concern.

"You humans call it the legend of the sirens, but we merfolk know the truth. It is no goddess with a singing voice, just an evil witch that hates humans and my father. Her name is Ursla, and she has been after my father's kingdom for years, since before I was born. She can use her magic to lure anyone she wants, she tried to lure me with her magic contract, but then that Bucks character found me before she could get her slimy tenticules around me. Either way, Cody and Eric are in a lot of danger. If they go all the way out to her, she can place a magic spell on them, forcing them to be hers forever."

"NO! She can't do that! I just got my feelings out to him and he to me! We're finally getting somewhere! We can't lose them," Ellie cried with worry. "I can't lose everything again! I promised his mother he would be safe here!"

"Sadly, I don't have daddy's power, so I can't save them, they have to make the choice themselves. If they chose her, then it will be up to us to free them, but that's not going to be easy. She never lets anything out of her garden without a price."

"So…we just have to sit here and wait," Ellie cried in disbelief.

"Sadly, that's all we can do until the guys make a choice. Once they make their choice, then we can take action, but right now all they hear is her magical song," Ariel said in a very sad voice.

Ellie paused, "Ariel, why does her voice sound like your singing voice?"

Ariel listened and tilted her head, her brow furrowing, "I…don't know. I still have my voice so that doesn't make sense. She must have a spell that mimics voices…"

Eric walked into the water and started for the rock and Ariel looked very torn. Sure, she was married to Eric now and the people of this kingdom loved her as they did him, but it was still his kingdom. Would they really let her rule without him by her side? But the truth of it was that she was more worried about him and what the sea witch had planned for him if he joined her side.

"Eric," she cried in worry, knowing it would do no good. Eric paused for just a moment, but then continued walking to the rock.

Cody however walked to the water and started to walk in, but it was as if the water woke him up. He paused at the water's edge and tilted his head. He looked at Ursla as if seeing her for the first time and blinked. Slowly he backed up until he reached Ariel and Ellie's side.

"What is that thing and why is Eric walking to it," he asked in disgust and fear.

Ariel sighed, "It's a siren, known under the sea as Ursla the sea witch, but on land you all know it as the tale of the siren. She can ensnare any human she wishes and it seems it was you and Eric she wanted." She shook her head, "There's nothing I can do to save him, he has to make a choice for himself not to follow her, but for some reason, she has my voice and so he is caught under her spell."

At that moment, Eric reached Ursla and she gave a triumphant smile as she looked over at Ariel. Eric reached up to her and she pulled him into her and then transformed into her true form, half octopus and half human, a repulsive sight to those on the shore. Ursla wrapped a tentacle around Eric and smiled at Ariel.

"Poor little princess, it's not really you I am after, I have a much bigger fish to fry. However you were far more accessible and much easier to get to without your father's triton protecting you. If you ever want to see your prince again, you'll find me in my home and we can talk a deal. If you don't come meet me, well then, you will never see your fair prince again. Will these humans still accept you as their royal if they know you will never be able to get their prince back?"

With that, a magical bubble surrounded Eric, who still looked to be enchanted under the sea witch's spell, and she and Eric dove under the water. Ariel looked like she was about to cry.

"What am I going to do! I can't leave the kingdom, they have to have a ruler, but I can't leave Eric to her evil hand, who knows what she has planned for him!"

Ellie sighed, she hated this. "Ariel, I might have solution…Years ago, Eric put something in place…Back when mom and dad got married. They made a royal agreement that if anything ever happened to Eric, one of us from our kingdom would step in to rule until Eric was brought back safely. I never wanted to rule, but, well, I am a princess, and I am here…I could rule here on a temporary basis until you come back with Eric…I don't know how good I am at being a royal, but I will have Grimsbee here to help and Carlotta too. We can run the kingdom until you get back…"

Ariel looked very torn, still not taking her eyes off where Eric and the sea witch had been only moments ago. She looked like she could cry. Slowly she looked up, "It's not that simple. My father would turn me back, sure, but I doubt he would allow me to go after Ursla. He will say it's too dangerous and I need to stay out of it, he will find Eric. But if I stay out of it and daddy goes after her, she is sure to ensnare daddy and she may not let Eric go…"

"Ariel, I can't tell you what to do, I am only a year younger then you, but I can say this, it's something I have learned, you have to trust your heart, it never fails."

"Ariel sighed, "I'll have to ask daddy to turn me back so I can go find Eric. I won't tell him where he was taken or by whom." She turned to Sabastian, "You can't tell daddy either, if you tell him, he'll never let me go after Eric and then he may be lost for good."

Sabastian was frowning, but he knew that Ariel was probably correct, "Very well, I won't tell your fadder, but you best be knowin' I be going with you girl. I will not let you put yourself in danger again and not go with you. I couldn't protect you from that Bucks character, but I will be with you this time to face dat sea witch!"

Ariel sighed, "It will be dangerous Sabastian."

"And when has that ever stopped me from following you? Everything you did under the sea was dangerous, and I still followed you. When you gonna get it through dat thick head a' yours dat I'm in dis with you too!"

Ariel sighed, "Alright, if you're sure you can rule for a short while until I come back with Eric, Ellie, and I _will_ come back with Eric, then I guess there is nothing else holding me back…"

As if to answer that, Carlotta and Grimsbee came up to the shore where they were all standing. "What happened, we saw Eric leave in a daze," Grimsbee asked in concern.

"And we were worried about all of you," Carlotta added.

"Yes, of course, that too," Grimsbee added.

Ariel sighed, "Grimsbee, is it true that you have it written down that someone from Ellie's kingdom would step in temporarily if something happened to the rules here?"

"Yes, as a temporary thing, we have it set up that way so that no one will try to take over this kingdom, why," Grimsbee asked with suspicion.

"Well…a sea witch by the name of Ursla came here and lured Eric to her with her magic and now I have to go back to the sea to save him. She specifically asked me to come after him. If I don't come after him, then maybe something very bad will happen to him. I have to go after him, but…I don't want to leave this kingdom unprotected and…I don't want the people to think that Eric and I deserted them…"

Grimsbee's face showed shock but Carlotta showed concern, "Will you be okay dear," she asked.

Ariel sighed, "I…I don't know, but if I don't go, Eric is sure to be hurt and never come back. I have to go…"

Grimsbee finally recovered, "Yes, well, I suppose Ellie can step up until you come back, if she doesn't mind…You are going to bring Eric back, right?" To anyone else, it would have sounded that Grimsbee was only concerned about getting their king back, but those who knew him could tell that he really was worried about Eric.

"I _**will**_ bring him back, don't worry about that. I will not leave the sea without him!"

As if on que, King Triton showed up, looking surprised to see all the humans at the shore. He was pleased to see his youngest daughter and Ellie, the human who had helped save him from Bucks, but he wasn't expecting Grimsbee and Carlotta.

"What is wrong Ariel, I sense something is off with my seas," King Triton said with a frown.

"Daddy, I need you to turn me back to a mermaid, I need to go into the sea again and search for Eric."

Triton frowned, "Why not let me and my guards search for him."

"Because daddy, I know where to look and I have to be the one to find him. I am his wife now, I need to protect my husband, just as you would for mom when she was alive or for all of us girls when we were little."

"But Ariel, I can't let you go into danger by yourself," Triton argued.

"I won't be alone, Sabastian will be with me. If I get into trouble, he can come back and find you. Please daddy, we are losing time, every minute counts. Please, you have to let me do this."

Triton looked as if he were in pain, but finally he sighed and nodded. He waved his triton and turned Ariel back into a mermaid. She lingered near the shore for only a moment.

"I will bring him back Grimsbee." She turned to look at Ellie, "I can't thank you enough for this. I know you can do this! You are going to make an amazing royal, and this will prove it to you!"

Slowly Ellie nodded, "I'll take care of this kingdom while you are gone. I will make sure it is the same as it was when Eric left and Eric won't have to change anything."

Ariel nodded one last time before diving into the sea to search for Eric, Sabastian following her.


	18. Chapter 18

**Little Mermaid Captured at Sea**

 **Chapter 18**

Ariel was worried about Eric, but she knew right where to look for him. Ursula had been very specific about that, if she wanted to find Eric, she had to meet the sea witch in her lair. As Ariel approached the cave, she slowed her swimming and looked at the entrance of the cave with nervous eyes. But then, thinking of Eric trapped there by himself with that sea witch, she squared her shoulders and pressed on.

Sabastian hid in her hair like always, looking extremely nervous. As she entered the cave, small brown plants that looked like seaweed grabbed her and tried to pull her back. Ariel's eyes widened as she saw these plants actually had faces and Ariel knew they must be the sea witch's former victims. Her eyes were wide with fear, but remembering Eric, she pulled free of them and slowly swam into the sea witch's cave.

Her eyes widened, in a small alcove of the cave was what looked like a prison cell and inside it was Eric, but he was a…merman! Ursula's tentacle caressed Eric's face and he pulled away with a look of revulsion and Ariel's heart softened a bit seeing that he was no longer under her spell at least. Eric looked up and in that moment, his eyes locked with Ariel's and there was shock. Ursula turned around to look at the intrusion and she smiled.

"Ah, if it isn't King Triton's pretty little princess," she said in a sickenly sweet voice.

"Ariel, what are you doing here! Run! Get out of here," Eric yelled in warning before Ursula put her tentacle over his mouth to silence him.

"No Eric, I won't leave you here," Ariel replied fiercely.

"That's right because you love him," Ursula said and then chuckled, "How predictable…"

"So this was your plan all along, you never wanted Eric, you wanted me," Ariel frowned.

"Of course was, you don't think I would be able to get your father to come after this weak human, do you? Your father hates humans. But of course your father will cove for his favorite daughter," Ursula smirked at this.

"So you intend to keep me here as a trophy until what? My daddy comes to save me," Ariel's eyes flashed with anger. "I've got news for you, someone already tried to get daddy to give up his triton for me and it didn't exactly work in his favor!"

"Yes I know, that stupid human got in my way, it would have been so much easier if he had not interfered, I could have already had the sea and your poor little princeie her wouldn't have to suffer down here at my hands," Ursula laughed.

"Just let Eric go, you have me now, you don't need him," Ariel said frowning.

"Oh, but you two make such a great pair, don't you think? A prince of the land and a princess of the sea married, why that is a first. The land and sea never interact together, you two would make quite the trophies, but I will keep your prince alive…at least on one condition…" Ursula laughed again.

"And here we are, you never ask for anything without taking something in return, so lets have it, what do you want in return," Ariel frowned.

"Your prince stays alive and in exchange, _**you belong to me**_ ," she said in a menacing tone.

Ariel frowned, "And what would happen to Eric?"

"He would live," she replied simply.

"And I suppose you are going to tell me now that this is the part where I would become part of your garden," Ariel asked with her frown deepening.

"Of course, that's what happens, you sign my contract and you belong to me, to do with what I chose to," Ursula said smugly.

Eric was shaking his head no since he couldn't with Ursula's tentacle over his mouth. Ariel sighed, she hated this, but Eric had a kingdom to run, she had to protect him at all costs. Besides all that, Ariel really did love Eric with all her heart and she didn't want him to get hurt.

"And if I say no," she asked with caution.

"Then lover boy pays the price," Ersula smirked and tossed something at Eric which gave him his legs back. Eric's eyes grew wide for a moment and then he closed his mouth quickly, panic showing in his eyes.

" **WAIT** ," Arial called in a panicked voice and Ursula smirked. She tossed something at Eric and a magical bubble appeared around his head so he could breath under water.

"Just…get the contract," Ariel said in anger but resigned to her fate. Eric was shaking his head even more now, his eyes full of worry, but it was too late, Ariel had made her choice, she'd do anything to protect Eric.

Ersula smirked at her pets Flatsom and Jatsom and pulled out a magical contract. Ariel sighed but took the pen from Ersula and signed to contract. She laughed in delight and as Sabastian was swimming away to warn the sea king, Ariel was being transformed. Landing right in front of Eric, Ariel turned into the seaweed like creature she'd seen in the entrance of Ursula's cave. Eric gasped and then looked down at Ariel with sad eyes and Ariel looked down as well.

"Oh Ariel, I'm so sorry…"

"Oh don't look so sad little princess, I let you keep your voice so that you can still talk to your prince…Besides, it's not you I'm after, I've a much bigger fish to fry!"

Two days passed before King Triton was able to make it to where Ariel and Eric were being held captive. When he finally got to Ursula's cave, he was in shock at what he saw. Ariel was still a small plant and Eric was swimming with an enchanted bubble around his head to keep him breathing, but he looked very distressed.

"What have you done to my daughter and son in law," Triton growled in anger.

"I would have never thought you would care about a puny human King Triton," Ursula laughed.

"Release my daughter and son in law now, I won't ask again," Triton growled.

"Sorry Triton, but she signed a contract with me, one that is legal and completely unbreakable. She's mine!" Triton frowned and shot his triton right at the contract, but it didn't budge. "See, I told you, completely unbreakable, even for you!"

Triton sighed, "What do you want, I will do anything, just please don't hurt my daughter, please!"

Ursula smirked, she had Triton right where she wanted him, "You could always sign the contract and take her place Triton, I am always up for a bargain."

"No Daddy," Ariel cried out begging. She could tell that he was going to sign and she looked up at Eric with wide eyes, "Eric, you have to stop him!"

"Ariel, I can't, I'm locked up in this cell with you, I can't get out…" Eric looed as distressed as Ariel at not being able to help stop Triton.

King Triton lifted his triton up to sign the contract and both Ariel and Eric knew how bad it was if he signed it. Eric hated this, he knew it was a horrible idea, but he'd already seen his wife and her father enslaved thanks to the triton and he knew he couldn't let it happen again. Eric slipped through the bars of his cells and swam right at Triton and knocked the triton away from the contract. However, once he slipped out of the safety of his cell, the magical bubble over his head disappeared and he could no longer breath under water.

"ERIC!" Ariel cried with worry, but she was rooted to the spot and couldn't get to Eric. Triton reacted quickly and changed Eric into a merman so he could breath. Eric sighed in relief but Ursula frowned, grabbing Eric's arm and pulling him back to her.

"Now, now Triton, I told you, you have to sign our deal in order to get your family back, and not before."

"No King Triton, you can't do this! Ariel and I will be here for you, we are fine staying here, but please, don't do this! Ariel will not ever forgive me if you do this. You just got free! Please don't!"

Triton sighed, "I have to, I have to save my daughter…" He sighed and with that he used his triton to sign Ursula's contract.

"It's done then!" Ursula shouted with glee and Ariel was turned back into a mermaid, but Triton was turned into a plant.

"DADDY," Ariel cried swimming up to her father with worried eyes. "Oh daddy, I am so sorry, you shouldn't have done this! I was fine, Eric was the only one who should have left here. The sea needed you!"

"I've done it! The triton is mine! I am the rule of all the oceans," She called with glee putting on King Triton's crown and reaching for the triton.

"NO!" Ariel growled diving for the triton and grabbing it. "I won't let you steal my daddy's kingdom! I may be the last in line for daddy's kingdom, but I won't let you hurt daddy and his kingdom like this! He's already lost the triton once because of me, I won't let it happen again!"

"Hand it over or so help me…!"

Ariel frowned and pointed the triton at Ursula, "Back up, I won't let you control my family like this!"

Ursula growled and dove for Ariel and the triton went off, zapping Ursula's pets. The blast reverberated against the wall of the cave and a spike from the roof fell down and stabbed Ursula right through her middle. She screamed out before her whole body exploded into a million pieces. All the seaweed plant people were turned back into merpeople and even Triton returned to his normal form.

" **DADDY** ," Ariel cried in relief as she swam up to him and hugged him. "Oh daddy, I was so worried about you! Don't **EVER** give up your triton for me again! It's not worth it," Ariel frowned.

"Oh sweetheart, you know I will always do it for you every time. You are my baby girl and I will do whatever I need to to protect you, forever and always," King Triton smiled and hugged his daughter as she gave him his triton back. "I was so proud of you, you were very brave, you've become quite the young woman is such a short time," he said, his voice beaming with pride.

"Oh daddy," she smiled and that was when they both looked up and saw Eric, floating awkwardly off to the side and Ariel chuckled. "Well, I guess you finally got a taste of what it was like growing up for me."

"Did you have adventures like this all the time," Eric asked amused.

"Fighting evil sea witches, no, but I always would go with Flounder and search through all the old sunken ships for human treasures and ask Skuddles about what I found. I was often chased by sharks, and I had to be careful not to let daddy see me up above the protection of the water, you know how he was about humans." She smiled, "But I even started my own collection in a hidden cave of all the human treasures I found, including a statue of you…"

"You kept that hideous thing," Eric asked amused.

"Well…sort of…I kept it until daddy found out and caused it to explode…" She paused and then quickly added, "It's not his fault, humans killed my mother and he didn't want to see me 'snared by some fish eater's hook,' so he wanted to talk me out of loving a human. He didn't know then what an amazing and kind person you were…"

Eric chuckled and King Triton rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "It's true, I'm sorry I judged you unfairly back then…You are a very honorable man and you take great care of my daughter. I am proud to have you as a son in law and I am happy to have an alliance with your land kingdom."

Eric nodded, "Yes, we won't be capturing any more fish, you can have my word on that, only animals from the forest from now on. We will never again hunt your kind," he smiled and then chuckled, "although in this state, maybe it would be better to say I won't hunt fish because as of right now, I am on…" He smiled and they all three laughed.

"We should get you back to your kingdom Eric, I'm sure Grimsbee and Carlotta are worried sick about you by now. Ellie agreed to take charge of the kingdom until we got back, but I'm sure your people are worried about you," Ariel added.

"Ariel, you are my people now, you are part of our community now. My people have accepted you as one of us because you are."

"Well, yes, now I am, but Eric, part of my heart will always belong to the sea," she added.

"Of course it will, and I would never ask you to take that out of you. I am proud of your family background and you should never try to get rid of it."

Ariel, Eric, Triton, and Sabastian all swam back up to the water's surface but paused just outside of Eric's kingdom. Something wasn't right, there was something very off about it, but they couldn't quite place it. Just then they saw a frantic Skuddles flying around the kingdom and Ariel called out to him. Skuddles looked down and flew right to them.

"Skuddles, what is going on," Ariel asked with a frown.

"Those bad men escaped from the prison! Ellie and Cody tried to work together to protect the kingdom, but those men took over. They got the people out, they are all safe, hiding in a cave off the shore, near your kingdom, but Ellie, Cody, Grimsbee, Carlotta, and that guy with the big white hat that's always chasing after Sabastian were all captured."

"Wait, you mean to tell me that Bucks' men got out of their cells? How is that possible," Eric asked.

"Outside help I think…I heard a rumor from the other birds that that Bucks guy got out of his cell in Ellie's kingdom too…This doesn't look good sweetie. You should stay in the sea, it's no longer safe on the land…"

Eric frowned, "I'm not leaving my people to suffer, I will take my kingdom back!"

"And I will be right there with you at your side," Ariel added.

"I…I can't leave the sea unprotected, but…If you can get your people on boats, I can see that they are protected on the water," Triton added.

"Will do, thank you your majesty…Now…can you turn me back," Eric asked.

"Turn both of us back daddy," Ariel added, "I won't let Eric face this alone!"

Triton sighed but nodded, "Of course, I would do the same thing if I were in your situation." He used his triton and turned Ariel and Eric back into humans and then handed Ariel a seashell necklace, "Ariel, if you need it, this necklace will get you in direct contact with me. I will help however I can."

Ariel nodded and she and Eric crept onto the land. They were going to fight for their kingdom. They would not let anyone take it without a fight. But they also were going to go and fight for Ellie. There was no way they were going to let these men harm her, not when she had just gotten free.

 **Sorry to leave you guys on a cliff hanger, but I am going to start a sequal to this story, one that focuses more on Ellie instead of Ariel. When I started this story out, it had been with the intention of making it all about Ariel and Eric, but, well, you saw how that went. As soon as I created Ellie and brought her into the story, well, it started to curve to be her story, hence this chapter about Ursula, but to be honest, I really wanted to write a story about Ellie. About her struggles and trials to try and become a normal royal after being a captive slave for five years to a horrible man, so I figured I would go ahead and start a new story. Don't worry, I will be sure to tell about Eric and Ariel going in to try and save their kingdom, but the focus will change on characters. Hope you enjoyed this story and as always, please review.**


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